>vLOS-ANCElFj> 
' 


;\\£v 


C-  •&,     x— '   >        I      £? 

ypM\/m\n$> 


s  nn  s  s  *>     s 

^  *J\  I  &    ^>  ~J\  IS 


g>         CP 

DNV-SOl^ 


^.       ^lOS-ANCElfj^ 

C3 


IMPORTANT  HISTORICAL  VOLUMES. 


IC 

v**4 


Old  Virginia  and  Her  Neigjiboqrs^ 

By  JOHN  FISKE.     2  vols.,  crown  8vo,  gilt  top, 

These  volumes  cover  the  settlement  and  growth  of  Virginia,  Maryland,  the  Caro- 
linas  and  Georgia  nearly  to  the  Revolution.  It  is  a  most  interesting  story,  and  has  never 
before  been  told  with  the  critical  insight,  the  philosophic  grasp,  and  the  distinct  literary 
charm  with  which  it  is  here  told  by  Mr.  Fiske. 

The  Critical  Period  of  American  History,  1783=1789 

By  JOHN  FISKE.  With  about  170  illustrations,  comprising  Portraits,  Maps, 
Facsimiles,  Contemporary  Views,  Prints,  and  other  Historical  Mate- 
rials. 8vo,  $4.00  ;  half  calf,  gilt  top,  or  half  polished  morocco,  $6.25. 

This  edition  follows  the  same  lines  of  illustration  which  were  adopted  in  the  Illus- 
trated Edition  of  "  The  American  Revolution."  Nothing  is  done  merely  for  decoration, 
and  every  illustration  has  a  positive  historic  character  and  value. 


C 


ILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES 


s, 


TAWILY  RECORDS. 


BY 


MRS.  ELIZA  JANE  TRIMBLE  THOMPSON, 
HER  TWO  DAUGHTERS, 

AND 

FRANCES  E.  WILLARD. 


"  Keep  thy  purpose  with  courage,  and  preserve  an  upright  intention 
toward  God."— THOMAS  A.  KEMPIS. 


CINCINNATI:  CRANSTON  &  CURTS. 
1896. 


98622 


COPYRIGHT 

BY  MRS.  E.  J.  THOMPSON, 
1896. 

(ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED.) 


v\v 

2^ 
T37 


TO  THE 
WHITE-RIBBON  WORKERS  IN  ALL  LANDS, 

©HIS  UOLUMB 
IS  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED. 

JANE  TRIMBLE  THOMPSON. 


HlLLSBORO,   OHIO, 

Deeembor  23,    1895. 


fHIS  little  volume  is  rightly  introduced  by  some 
early  family  history,  which,  in  its  beginnings, 
"took  methods  and  formed  habits  of  truth  "  which 
outlasted  many  vicissitudes,  and  still  serves  as  a 
legacy  to  children,  grandchildren,  and  great-grand- 
children. 

M.  MSA.  T. 


CONTENTS. 


THE:  MAKING  OF  AN  EARI/V  GOVERNOR, n 

MARY   M"ARTHUR  TUTTLE. 
II. 

His  ONI/V  DAUGHTER, 31 

MARY  MCARTHUR   TUTTLE. 
III. 

INTRODUCTION, 53 

REV.   W.  J.   M^SURELY,  D.  D. 

THE  CRUSADE  SKETCHES, 57 

ELIZA  JANE  TRIMBLE   THOMPSON. 
IV. 

MY  MOTHER'S  YEARS  APPROACHING  LIFE'S  SUNSET,  .  173 

MARIE  T.   RIVES. 
V. 

MY  FRIEND  MRS.  THOMPSON,  AND  THE  PRESENT  CON- 
DITION OF  THE  TEMPERANCE  WORK, 193 

FRANCES   E.   WILLARD. 
VI. 

LETTER  OF  LADY  HENRY  SOMERSET, 207 

7 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PORTRAIT  OF  MRS.  THOMPSON Frontispiece. 

PORTRAIT  OF   HER    GRANDMOTHER,  JANE   ALLEN 

TRIMBLE, 18 

"FOREST  LAWN," 40 

"  THE  OLD  HOME," M.  MCA.  T.,   42 

THE  LILACS  AND  CEDARS, M.  MCA.  T.,   46 

PORTRAIT  OF  MRS.  THOMPSON, 52 

A  DOOR   LEADING   FROM    MRS.   THOMPSON'S  ROOM — 

M.  MCA.  T.,    60 

THE  CRUSADE  CHURCH  (PRESBYTERIAN), 62 

"  THE  TEMPLE  "  (CHICAGO,) 138 

FRONT  VIEW  OF  "THE  OLD  HOME,"  .   .   .   .  M.  MCA.  T.,  176 

THE  SOUTHERN  PORCH, M.  MCA.  T.,  178 

GOLDEN  WEDDING  PRESENTS, M.  MCA.  T.,  182 

THE  HALL  IN  "  THE  OLD  HOME," M.  MCA.  T.,  190 

PORTRAIT  OF  FRANCES  E.  WILLARD, 194 

PORTRAIT  OF  LADY  HENRY  SOMERSET, 206 

9 


I. 

THE  MAKING  OF  AN  EARLY  GOVERNOR. 


I. 

THE  MAKING  OF  AN  EARLY  GOVERNOR. 

"  The  strenuous  soul  hates  cheap  success." — EMERSON. 

NARRATIVES  which  begin  with  tomahawks 
and  scalping-knives  are  not  so  sure  of  ar- 
resting attention  in  this  advanced  period  of  our 
American  civilization  as  narratives  which  have 
to  do  with  electricity  and  its  effect  upon  poor 
criminals,  or  accounts  of  the  advancements  in 
marine  architecture  and  how  the  "  man-of-war  " 
can  best  be  built  to  withstand  belligerents.  But 
the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  were  familiar 
sights  to  the  pioneers  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
and,  consequently,  to  the  grandfather  of  our 
present  chapter;  and,  finally,  after  many  times 
witnessing  the  terrors  of  early  warfare  with  these 
deadly  weapons,  he  was  himself  attacked  and 
killed  by  the  Indians  in  the  mountains  of  Vir- 
ginia in  I7f3,  shortly  after  he  and  his  family 
emigrated  to  America:  so  that  a  tomahawk 
thrown  across  our  pathway  at  this  period  of  our 
story  is  significant. 

John  Trimble  belonged  to  the  Scotch-Irish 
race,  and  was  a  believer  in  John  Knox,  the  man 
born  at  Giffordgate,  a  suburb  of  Haddington,  in 

13 


14  FAMILY  RECORD. 

1505,  and  who,  before  his  death  in  Edinburgh, 
1572,  knew  what  intense  hardships  meant,  as 
well  as  remarkable  experiences  in  affairs  of 
Church  and  State.  As  a  believer  in  Knox  and 
his  uncompromising  doctrines  and  wonderful 
zeal  (which,  an  English  ambassador  said,  "  put 
more  life  into  Knox  than  six  hundred  trum- 
pets"), our  Scotch-Irish  emigrant  met  his  death 
as  heroically  as  John  Knox  would  have  met  any 
perpetrator  of  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew. 
"At  the  time  that  John  Trimble  was  slain,  James 
his  son,  and  his  daughter  Mrs.  Estell,  and  a 
black  boy,  were  taken  prisoners.  Mrs.  Estell  was 
sitting  on  a  log,  sewing  ruffles  on  a  shirt  of  her 
husband,  when  the  Indians  claimed  her  as  their 
prize."  "This  marauding  party  was  successfully 
pursued  over  the  Alleghany  Mountains  by  a 
party  under  Colonel  Moffit,  stepson  of  John 
Trimble,  who  surprised  and  routed  the  Indians 
and  rescued  the  prisoners.  James  lived  to  aid 
in  punishing,  in  honorable  battle,  the  slayer  of 
his  father."  "In  1774  he  participated  in  the 
bloody  and  decisive  battle  of  Point  Pleasant."* 

"At  the  very  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary 
War  these  savage  tribes  again  took  the  field,  and 
the  frontier  settlements  became  the  theater  of 

*  Memoir  of  Mrs.  Jane  Trimble,  by  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M. 
Trimble.  Published  in  Cincinnati,  1861.  Methodist  Book 
Concern. 


THE  MAKING  OF  AN  EARLY  GOVERNOR.         15 

conflict  between  combined  British  and  Indian 
forces  and  border  troops.  James  Trimble  com- 
manded a  company  of  these  border  troops  during 
the  war.  In  1784  he  decided  to  make  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Kentucky  his  future  home,  and  accord- 
ingly organized  an  emigrant  company,  which 
grew  in  such  proportions  that  it  finally  num- 
bered over  five  hundred  souls.  By  the  time  it 
reached  Bean's  Station,  a  military  commander, 
General  Knox,  of  Revolutionary  fame,  was  se- 
lected as  leader.  After  traversing  two  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  of  wilderness,  they  reached  Crab 
Orchard,  Kentucky,  November,  1784,  and  began 
to  locate  lands  earned  by  military  service."  * 

A  late  writer,  who  has  been  over  this  old  wil- 
derness road,  says:  "It  has  every  conceivable 
badness — loose  stone,  ledges  of  rock,  bowlders, 
sloughs,  holes,  mud,  sand,  deep  fords,  and  one  day 
in  a  wagon  is  enough  to  satisfy  a  man  for  life." 

Our  hero,  the  subject  of  this  chapter,  uthe 
little  governor,"  as  he  was  afterwards  called, 
was  only  twelve  months  old  at  the  time  re- 
ferred to.  It  is  impossible  to  see  him,  as  he  is 
wrapped  in  homespun  blankets,  clasped  in  his 
mother's  arms,  who  is  on  horseback  in  the  cur- 
rent of  an  angry  river,  the  bravest  woman  in  a 
party  of  five  hundred  emigrants !  She  clasps  her 
baby  very  firm  with  one  hand,  and  holds  on  with 

*  See  Memoirs. 


1 6  FAMILY  RECORD. 

the  other  hand  to  the  mane  of  her  noble  horse, 
and  tells  her  other  child  to  hold  fast  to  her  waist, 
and  then  plunges  forward,  arriving  safely  on  the 
opposite  shore,  amidst  the  shouts  of  those  who 
crossed  before  the  river  became  so  dangerous. 
General  Knox  shouted  to  her  that,  "after  this, 
she  should  be  his  aid-de-camp  and  lead  the 
women,  as  her  husband,  'Captain  James,'  led 
the  men."  She  made  no  reply,  but  knelt  before 
the  great  army  of  people  and  offered  a  prayer  of 
thanks  to  God  for  the  narrow  escape  from  death, 
amid  their  shouts  and  weeping. 

When  they  reached  Cumberland  Gap,  the  old 
mountains  looked  dismal  enough.  "  Twenty  men 
were  stationed  by  General  Knox  on  the  table- 
rock  overhanging  the  'Gap,'  and  twenty  men 
were  sent  two  hundred  feet  in  advance  of  the 
main  body  of  emigrants,  which,  as  we  have  said, 
in  all  numbered  five  hundred  souls.  Two  hun- 
dred of  these  were  from  Virginia,  and  the  re- 
maining number  from  North  and  South  Carolina. 
The  rocky  and  uncultivated  approach  to  the 
'Gap'  was  covered,  in  some  places,  by  cane, 
growing  ten  feet  high  and  as  thick  as  hemp." 
But  most  of  the  party  feared  the  panthers  and 
wolves  more  than  the  canebrakes.  Yet  the 
canebrakes  are  said  to  be  very  difficult  to  pene- 
trate, and  in  the  extreme  Southern  States  they 
grow  to  fifteen  feet  in  height.  "On  the  dividing 


THE  MAKING  OF  AN  EARLY  GOVERNOR.         1 7 

line  of  Kentucky  and  Virginia  they  first  began 
to  appear.  They  were  indicative  of  rich  land, 
and  in  many  instances  usurp  the  growth  of 
timber.  The  deer  and  the  bear  were  fond  of  the 
young,  green  leaves,  and  as  apt  to  hide  in  one 
of  these  canebrakes  as  were  the  Indians." 

General  Knox  sent  out  a  reconnoitering  party, 
which  was  attacked  by  wolves  and  panthers,  and 
barely  escaped  the  stealthy  Indians.  They  were 
now  fast  arriving  at  the  frontier  post.  Buf- 
faloes, bears,  and  deer  furnished  food  for  the 
people  all  winter.* 

They  settled  on  a  farm  in  Woodford  County, 
Kentucky,  near  Lexington — the  famous  Blue- 
grass  Region — and  there  remained  until  they  re- 
moved to  Ohio  in  1804.  Captain  James  Trimble 
and  his  wife  determined,  after  having  lived  in 
Kentucky  for  some  time,  to  release  their  slaves. 
The  captain  presented  his  deed  of  manu- 
mission to  the  courts.  It  was  twice  refused, 
as  an  evil  influence,  which  would  exert  itself 
over  the  servants  of  others ;  and  not  until  young 
Henry  Clay,  with  an  eloquent  request,  had> 
urged  it,  did  the  courts  accept  the  noble  deed. 
From  that  time  (1802)  there  arose  a  friendship 
between  Mr.  Clay  and  the  Trimble  family,  which 
continued  during  his  life;  and  the  correspond- 
ence  between  Henry  Clay  and  Allen  Trimble, 

*  Memoirs  of  Jane  Allen  Trimble. 
2 


1 8  FAMILY  RECORD. 

who  was,  of  course,  younger,  contained  much 
that  is  valuable  in  the  political  and  social  events 
of  those  years. 

Captain  Trimble,  after  having  liberated  his 
slaves,  made  arrangements  to  go  to  a  free  State 
in  1804.  "He  took  with  him  some  help,  pur- 
chased lands  in  Ohio,  cleared  ten  acres,  put 
up  a  double  log-cabin,  planted  a  young  orchard, 
and  returned  to  Kentucky  to  prepare  his  family 
for  the  journey;"  but,  alas!  was  overtaken  by 
sickness  and  died,  leaving  his  wife  and  eight 
young  children  to  find  their  own  way  to  the  free 
State.* 

The  only  time  before  this  calamity  that  we 
have  seen  our  little  hero  was  on  the  day  when 
he  crossed  the  angry  river,  held  tight  in  his 
mother's  arms,  wrapped  in  his  homespun  blan- 
kets. Now  he  springs  up,  like  a  young  Spartan, 
and  cheers  the  sad  and  weary  heart  of  his 
widowed  mother,  as  she,  with  her  "  eight  father- 
less children,  travels  over  the  rough  roads  of  this 
unbroken  country  for  six  weary  days,  until  she 
reaches  her  home  in  the  wilderness  of  Ohio." 
The  few  improvements  Captain  Trimble  had 
been  able  to  make  rendered  the  spot  dear  to  the 
heart  of  his  faithftu  widow,  as  it  was  his  last 
work  on  earth.  A  less  brave,  devout,  and  in- 

*  Facts  related  by  Rev.  J.  M.  Trimble  in  Memoirs  re- 
ferred to. 


THE  MAKING  OF  AN  EARLY  GOVERNOR.         19 

telligent  woman  than  Jane  Allen  Trimble  would 
have  tarried  in  the  former  circle  with  older  asso- 
ciations; but  the  very  face  of  the  woman  shows 
what  firmness  as  well  as  tenderness  centered  in 
her  nature. 

The  widowed  mother  and  her  eight  children 
prospered.  Their  home  was  a  resort  for  many 
interesting  and  intelligent  pioneers,  and  even 
Indians,  with  their  squaws  and  papooses,  would 
come  in  and  stay  for  a  meal,  stand  their  papooses 
up  against  the  wall  in  their  cases  while  shaking 
hands  in  good  faith  with  the  woman  whom  Gen- 
eral Knox  had  called  his  "  aid-de-camp." 

Two  of  the  sons  were  sent  to  Philadelphia  for 
their  education.  One  became  a  physician,  the 
other  a  merchant  and  a  writer  of  history;  another 
son,  whose  portrait  shows  a  noble  countenance, 
served  in  the  War  of  1813  as  colonel,  and  after- 
ward was  a  United  States  senator;  and  a  younger 
son  wras  sent  to  a  classical  school  in  an  adjoining 
State.  Three  sons  were  engaged  in  military  serv- 
ice. Carey  was  appointed  to  a  lieutenautcy  in  the 
regular  army.  The  sisters  married  Virginians, 
Mr.  John  Nelson  and  Mr.  James  McCue.  Mrs. 
Trimble  was  greatly  aided  in  the  management  of 
the  family  by  her  son  Allen,  who  afterward,  as 
governor  of  Ohio,  just  twenty-one  years  after 
the  arrival  of  the  family  at  the  log-cabin,  distin- 
guished himself  in  his  official  duties.  He  served 


20  FAMILY  RECORD. 

the  State  in  various  capacities  for  twenty-five  con- 
secutive years.  "Educational  interests  and  in- 
ternal improvements  of  every  kind  were  encour- 
aged and  aided  by  him.  Underlying  all  his  success 
in  life,  and  the  very  source  of  his  power,  was  in- 
tegrity. He  put  a  high  estimate  upon  personal 
honor,  and  bequeathed  his  descendants  a  spotless 
name  in  public  and  private  life."*  He  was  very 
fond  of  showing  to  his  grandsons  an  old  silver 
soup-ladle,  which  had  been  made  from  some  silver 
won  the  first  and  only  time  he  ever  played  cards 
when  a  young  man.  He  had  it  made,  he  said, 
"to  remind  him  of  his  folly  and  of  his  vow 
never  to  play  cards  again  for  gain  as  long  as  he 
lived."  He  was  equally  self-denying  on  the 
temperance  question,  and  while  other  men  of  his 
generation  kept  their  wines  and  brandy  on  their 
sideboards,  he  never  did,  but  made  it  a  point, 
even  when  hurried  in  his  executive  office,  to 
attend  temperance  conventions,  and  once  took 
his  daughter  "Eliza"  to  Saratoga  to  the  first 
National  Convention.  This  was  after  the  time 
when,  as  a  child  of  nine  years,  while  attending 
a  private  school  in  Cincinnati,  the  desperate 
effort  was  made  to  kidnap  the  only  daughter  of 
the  governor.  At  this  time  little  Eliza  was  at 
Mr.  Picket's  school,  in  Cincinnati — a  private 
school  for  girls,  and  she  boarded  with  Mrs. 

*  Biographical  Sketch,  by  Rev.  John  F.  Marlay. 


THE  MAKING   OF   AN  EARLY  GOVERNOR.      21 

McKnight,'on  Fifth   Street,  between   Sycamore 
and  Main,  where  sixteen  other  girls  boarded. 

It  was  the  second  term  of  Governor  Trimble's 
administration.  A  case  very  rare  in  those  days  of 
a  man  killing  his  wife  and  two  children  oc- 
curred. The  indignation  was  great;  yet  some 
hearts  were  sympathetic,  believing  the  man  to 
be  not  in  his  right  mind.  Although  the  law 
pronounced  judgment  of  hanging,  Mr.  Alibone 
Jones,  Dr.  Daniel  Drake,  and  others,  got  up  a 
petition  for  the  commutation  of  his  sentence  to 
lifetime  imprisonment,  setting  forth  the  con- 
dition of  the  poor  man.  Governor  Trimble, 
being  very  much  inclined  on  mercy's  side,  ac- 
cepted the  proposition,  and  the  sentence  was  com- 
muted, and  changed  to  life-time  imprisonment' 
This  caused  much  commotion  and  indignation 
among  the  rabble.  Governor  Trimble,  Mr.  Ali- 
bone Jones,  and  Dr.  Drake  were  hung  in  effigy, 
and  then  burned,  in  the  streets  of  Cincin- 
nati. George  Lair,  who  had  been  for  years  in 
service  in  the  governor's  family,  was  at  .the 
present  time  a  stage-driver  between  Hillsboro 
and  Cincinnati.  He  was  devoted  to  the  children 
of  his  former  employer.  One  of  his  favorite 
horses  being  disabled,  he  left  his  hotel  and  went 
to  the  stable  to  take  care  of  it.  As  he  watched 
by  the  side  of  his  horse  he  heard  a  whisper- 
ing from  men  on  the  other  side  of  the  stall,  who 


22  FAMILY  RECORD. 

were  making  a  plot  to  carry  the  little  daughter 
of  the  governor  off,  conceal  her  in  New  Orleans, 
and  keep  her  as  a  hostage  until  the  governor 
would  consent  to  have  Burtsell  hung.  George 
discovered  that  they  knew  her  boarding-place. 
He  determined  to  go  at  daybreak  to  Judge  John 
McLean's  home,  who  was  one  of  Governor  Trim- 
ble's intimate  friends.  Finding  from  the  butler, 
who  met  him  at  the  door,  that  Judge  McLean 
was  in  Washington,  he  went  immediately  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  George  Jones,  the  father  of  Mr. 
Alibone  Jones;  for  his  wife,  Mrs.  Jones,  and 
daughter  had  visited  Hillsboro  when  George  was 
coachman  for  Mr.  Trimble.  When  Mrs.  Jones 
became  aware  of  the  situation,  she  told  George 
she  would  call  at  an  early  hour  for  Eliza,  at  the 
boarding-house,  and  take  the  little  one  for  a 
drive.  She  assured  Mrs.  McKnight  she  had 
permission  from  her  parents  for  a  visit  from 
the  little  girl,  and  would  keep  her  several 
days. 

When  she  had  the  child  safely  at  home  with 
her,  she  told  her  frankly  the  situation,  and 
warned  her  not  to  leave  the-  house,  unless  pro- 
tected by  her  husband  or  son.  Mrs.  Jones  was 
much  fortified  to  find  great  bravery  on  the  part 
of  the  child.  She  wrote  to  Governor  Trimble, 
that  "  Eliza  was  neither  agitated  nor  frightened." 
She  took  her  to  the  school  in  her  carriage,  and 


THE  MAKING  OF  AN  EARLY  GOVERNOR.         23 

acquainted  Mr.  Picket  with  the  facts.  Eliza  sat 
quietly  there,  making  quill  pens  with  her  old 
teacher,  while  Mrs.  Jones  went  farther  on  her 
rounds  that  morning.  When  she  called  for 
Eliza,  she  found  her  as  composed  as  any  little 
philosopher. 

Mr.  Trimble  wrote  that,  as  soon  as  he  could, 
he  would  devise  a  plan  to  get  her  home  safely, 
but  that  he  was  advised  by  Dr.  Drake  and 
Mr.  Jones  not  to  venture  into  the  city  himself. 
Eliza  remained  with  Mrs.  Jones  for  two  weeks, 
and  then  she  was  taken  care  of  by  Mrs.  Judge 
McLean  for  three  weeks,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  her  little  brother  Gary  and  George  Lair 
came  in  the  stage-coach  to  take  her  home.  They 
had  to  feign  their  names,  and  did  not  talk  to 
each  other  on  the  journey.  One  day  and  a 
night  were  required  for  the  journey  from  Cincin- 
nati to  Hillsboro  in  those  days,  which  now  is 
made  in  three  hours.  The  stage  stopped  in 
Williamsburg,  and  the  little  girl  was  put  into  a 
bed  in  a  room  next  to  the  bar,  where  the  men 
all  night  cursed  her  father. 

As  a  matter  of  history,  it  is  interesting  to 
recall  that  Mrs.  George  (Bank)  Jones,  as  she  was 
called,  because  her  husband  was  a  banker,  was 
a  Miss  Alibone,  of  Philadelphia,  and  once,  on  her 
way  from  that  city  to  Cincinnati,  she  took  the 
route  through  Hillsboro.  She  carried  gold  and 


24  .  FAMILY  RECORD. 

silver  coin  in  her  carriage  to  her  husband's  bank, 
and  feared  to  stay  at  the  hotel,  so  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Trimble  invited  her  to  remain  at  their  house,  little 
supposing  that  she  would  return  the  kindness 
in  the  manner  just  related. 

The  first  wife  of  Allen  Trimble  was  Mar- 
garet McDowell,  a  clever  woman,  of  great  ani- 
mation of  manner  and  good  heart.  They  were 
married  in  1806,  in  Woodford  County,  Ken- 
tucky. She  was  the  sister-in-law  of  Mrs.  General 
McDowell,  who  took  so  active  a  part  in  the  Ohio 
Crusade.  "  Her  father  was  Major  Joe  McDowell, 
a  statesman  and  soldier  in  North  Carolina  of  dis- 
tinction, one  of  the  leaders  of  the  North  Caro- 
una  troops  at  King's  Mountain — the  fatal  battle 
of  the  Revolution  in  the  South.  The  great  vic- 
tory won  there  over  the  British  arms  drove  Corn- 
wallis  into  Virginia,  where  he  was  compelled 
to  surrender  to  Washington,  and  the  success  of 
the  Colonies'  cause  was  assured.  McDowell  was 
then  elected  to  the  Convention  which  formed  the 
constitution  of  North  Carolina.  For  years  he 
represented  his  people  in  the  North  Carolina 
Legislature  and  Senate,  and,  after  many  years 
of  service  in  the  National  Congress,  he  moved 
to  Kentucky,  where  his  life  closed,  and  where 
he  left  many  debtors  to  his  usefulness  and  high 
reputation  in  the  future  generations  which  still 
honor  his  memory." 


THE  MAKING  OF  AN  EARLY  GOVERNOR.         25 

Allen  Trimble  served  in  the  War  of  1812, 
under  Harrison,  and  was  commissioned  major. 
William  and  Cyrus,  his  brothers,  were  also  in 
this  war;  Colonel  William  A.  Trimble  being 
desperately  wounded  in  the  sortie  at  Fort  Brie 
under  General  Brown,  which  caused  him  to  re- 
sign his  position  in  the  army,  and  in  1817  he 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  by  the 
Legislature  of  Ohio.  He  died  in  Washington 
City  in  1821,  at  the  age  of  thirty-five,  where  the 
writer  of  this  chapter  recently  visited  his  grave 
in  the  Senatorial  Cemetery. 

Allen  Trimble  took  his  seat  in  the  first  Gen- 
eral Assembly  that  ever  convened  in  the  city  of 
Columbus,  Ohio,  and  was  returned  seven  suc- 
cessive terms,  and  in  1818-19  he  was  chosen 
president  of  the  Senate.  Those  who  can  judge, 
speak  within  the  limits  of  truth  and  justice 
when  they  affirm  he  was  the  ablest  presiding 
officer  the  Senate  of  Ohio  has  ever  had.* 

The  loss  of  his  first  wife  was  grievously  felt  by 
him  and  by  his  two  little  boys,  Joseph  and  Mad- 
ison. In  1 8 1 1  he  became  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
a  young  and  beautiful  Quakeress,  of  auburn  hair, 
mild  blue  eyes,  and  mild  temperament,  which,  as 
Hamlet  says,  "  doth  give  the  torrent  smoothness." 
Her  parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Woodrow,  were  ele- 
gant, dignified  Quakers,  and  she  was  educated  to 

*  Biographical  Sketch,  by  Rev.  John  F.  Marlay. 


26  FAMILY  RECORD. 

be  a  true  woman.  She  was  the  mother  of  Gary 
A.  Trimble,  William  H.  Trimble,  and  Eliza 
Jane  Trimble  Thompson.  There  was  in  this 
marriage,  cemented  by  religious  sentiment  and 
common  interests  in  serious  topics,  a  vast  in- 
fluence, extended  through  long  and  useful  years, 
until,  as  old  people  of  eighty  and  seventy-seven, 
they  smiled  in  mutual  sympathy  upon  each  other 
across  their  glowing  fireside,  and  upon  their  chil- 
dren, grandchildren,  and  great-grandchildren, 
urging  lessons  of  integrity, industry,  and  patience 
upon  all  who  came  in  their  way.  Many  a  time 
has  the  writer  of  this  sketch  sat  midway  between 
these  noble  grandparents  and  read  aloud  the 
volumes  of  Washington  Irviug's  "  Life  of  Wash- 
ington," many  instances  of  which  were  very 
familiar  to  their  ears;  so  much  so  that  they 
would  interlace  family  legends  and  Revolutionary 
stories  with  the  historical  facts  given  by  the 
author.  A  curious  illustration  of  the  patience 
and  sagacity  of  Allen  Trimble  and  his  wife 
"Rachel"  is  the  story  of  the  two  thousand  dol- 
lars. One  morning,  in  midwinter,  they  were 
startled,  while  making  their  toilet,  by  the  old 
colored  cook,  "  Patsey,"  giving  a  tremendous 
knock  at  their  door,  and  calling  out:  "Hurry 
out  here,  Miss  Rachel,  for  the  Lord's  sake !" 
Accustomed  to  all  manner  of  people  and  events 
in  those  early  days,  Mr.  Trimble  opened  the 


THE  MAKING  OF  AN  EARLY  GOVERNOR.         2J 

door  halfway  and  saw  James  Brooks,  one  of  his 
Fayette  County  farm  superintendents,  trying  to 
push  his  way  in,  and,  while  grasping  the  hand 
of  his  employer,  he  cried  out,  "  I  'm  a  ruined 
man,  governor.  Here's  all  that's  left,"  and  he 
threw  down  on  the  table  a  mangled,  wet,  and 
hideous-looking  pocket-book. 

"  That 's  just  the  way  it  looked,"  said  he. 
"  Betsey  can  swear  to  it,  when  I  took  it  out  of 
the  gluttonous  beast's  throttle !  That 's  the  way 
it  looked,  and  that 's  all  that 's  left  of  the  two 
thousand  dollars!"  And  he  clenched  his  teeth 
and  said:  "I'm  at  your  mercy,  governor;  will 
work  it  out  if  it  kills  me!" 

"  Lock  the  door  behind  us,"  said  Mr.  Trim- 
ble. "  Come,  James,  and  have  your  break- 
fast, and  after  that  we  '11  talk  it  over.  Come, 
Rachel,"  said  he  to  his  wife;  "lock  the  door  and 
bring  the  key." 

After  breakfast  the  fragments  were  taken 
from  the  pocket-book,  which  James  explained 
was  in  the  pocket  of  his  blouse  when  he  was 
feeding  the  gluttonous  beast  (and  the  rest  of 
the  critters,  as  he  called  them),  who  turned 
and  snatched  the  pocket-book  instead  of  the 
fodder,  and  began  chewing  up  two  thousand  dol- 
lars of  bank-notes  as  fast  as  if  they'd  been 
grass.  "  I  took  to  my  heels  for  the  house,"  said 
he;  "snatched  my  gun  from  the  shelf,  and  Betsey 


28  FAMILY  RECORD. 

startin'  after  me,  thinkin'  I  was  going  to  kill 
myself;  but  I  made  straight  for  the  greedy  ox, 
and  I  ripped  open  his  throat  in  no  time,  and 
there  it  was !  Sure  enough,  there  it  was  !  Nasty, 
villainous  thing!  But  I  '11  work  it  out,  governor; 
I  '11  work  it  out,  if  it  kills  me." 

"  Do  n't  get  so  excited,  James,"  said  Mr.  Trim- 
ble. "We'll  see  what  can  be  done;"  and  he 
took  up  the  wet  mass  of  paper  and  said  to  his 
wife :  "  Can  you  have  the  patience  to  spread 
these  separate  pieces  out  on  a  table,  if  some  one 
helps  you,  until  they  dry,  and  then  paste  them 
on  tissue  paper,  reconstructing  the  face  of  the 
bills  if  possible ;  the  bank  may  yet  receive  them 
at  some  discount."  Little  Eliza  was  allowed  to 
stand  on  a  chair  by  the  table,  and  watch  her 
mother  and  one  of  her  uncles  all  day,  while 
they  separated  and  combined  this  "filthy  lucre." 
The  banks  received  the  notes,  finally,  making 
only  a  small  discount.  Poor  James  wanted  to 
bear  the  loss;  but  the  governor  paid  him  a 
premium  instead,  for  his  brave  and  honorable 
conduct. 

Mrs.  Trimble  and  the  family  resided  in  Hills- 
boro  during  the  years  of  Mr.  Trimble's  executive 
work  in  Columbus,  and  he  always  claimed  that 
the  repose  and  strength  he  received  during  the 
short  vacations  in  his  Hillsboro  home  repler- 
ished  his  mind  for  its  labors  and  public  cares: 


THE  MAKING  OF  AN  EARLY  GOVERNOR.         29 

believing  that  "  the  only  heart  that  can  help  us 
is  one  that  draws,  not  from  society,  but  from 
itself,  a  counterpoise  to  society;"  and  he  con- 
trasted the  quiet,  beautiful,  and  industrious  life 
of  his  wife  with  the  gay  extravagance  of  other 
women  whom  he  constantly  met,  and  felt  as 
much  comfort  and  pride  as  a  man  can  feel  in 
the  knowledge  that  he  has  a  perfect  companion. 
Mrs.  Trimble's  taste  for  all  that  was  pure  and 
beautiful  showed  itself  in  her  finely-selected, 
half-Quaker  toilets;  her  choice  of  good  old  ma- 
hogany furniture  and  beautiful  china ;  her  culti- 
vation of  flowers;  and  her  exquisite  table — for 
never  was  there  a  more  perfect  housekeeper. 
Once  while  Miss  Katherine  Beecher  was  visiting 
Mrs.  Trimble  she  inquired  of  Miss  Katherine 
what  subjects  she  was  writing  upon  just  then? 
"Housekeeping,"  Miss  Beecher  answered,  ami- 
ably. "How  would  you  enjoy  some  practical 
experience  in  that  line?"  said  Mrs.  Trimble; 
"I  can  furnish  you  with  some  to-day."  "O!" 
said  Miss  Beecher,  "it  is  so  much  easier  to 
write  about  than  to  put  into  practice." 


II. 

HIS  ONLY  DAUGHTER. 


II. 

HIS  ONLY  DAUGHTER. 

OUNDAYS  were  representative  days  in  the 
O  old  Hillsboro  home,  and  the  visits  of  chil- 
dren, grandchildren,  and  great-grandchildren 
made  the  grandparents'  hearts  glad,  even  after 
the  infirmities  of  extreme  old  age  prevented 
them  from  attending  Church  services.  It  had 
been  their  habit  to  drive  to  the  Methodist  Church 
(of  which  they  were  loyal  members,  the  Presby- 
terian and  Quaker  belief  having  fused  itself  into 
the  religion  of  the  Wesleys)  in  their  elegant, 
tasteful  carriage.  This  carriage  was  a  great 
source  of  pride  to  the  grandchildren,  who  were 
not  allowed  to  touch  the  dove-colored  cloth 
and  silk,  nor  even  the  ivory  buttons,  or  disturb 
the  composure  of  the  white  horse.  They  could 
enjoy  the  horses  "  Red-bird  "  and  "  Jenette  " 
and  "  Pony,"  but  not  "  grandma's  white  church- 
horse,"  as  they  call  it. 

Dr.  Joseph  M.  Trimble,  the  oldest  of  Gover- 
nor Trimble's  sons,  after  an  active  and  useful  life 
in  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Church,  lo- 
cated in  Columbus,  Ohio.  He  was  well  known 
throughout  the  State,  and  represented  his  Church 

3  33 


34  FAMILY  RECORD. 

at  the  General  Conferences  for  many  years.  He 
had  a  large  interest,  as  his  father  had,  in  edu- 
cational institutions,  to  one  of  which  he  left  a 
handsome  endowment.  He  was  possessed  with 
the  spirit  of  reform,  of  self-sacrifice,  of  firm  and 
abiding  religious  conviction.  He  married  Sarah 
Starr,  a  niece  of  General  Trimble,  of  Balti- 
more, who  assisted  him  in  a  cheerful  manner  in 
all  he  undertook.  She  still  lives  to  enjoy  the 
abundance  of  good  his  industry  and  wisdom  sur- 
rounded her  with.  Of  her  cheerful  Christian 
virtues  much  could  be  written. 

Mr.  James  Madison  Trimble,  the  second  son, 
married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Smith,  of  Hills- 
boro,  a  wealthy  citizen.  Mrs.  Trimble  was  a 
woman  of  just  pride  and  dignity  of  character. 
Their  large  and  interesting  family  added  greatly 
to  the  pleasure  of  Governor  and  Mrs.  Trimble's 
life,  as  they  resided  in  Hillsboro  in  a  handsome 
property  near  by.  Mr.  Madison  Trimble  resem- 
bled his  father  in  appearance,  and  had  the  same 
sense  of  humor  and  keen  wit  and  talent  for  ac- 
cumulating money,  and  the  same  enjoyment  of 
political  affairs.  These  two  oldest  sons  were  chil- 
dren by  the  first  marriage.  Win.  H.  Trimble,  Gary 
A.  Trimble,  and  Eliza  Jane  Trimble  were  the  chil- 
dren of  the  second  marriage.  Dr.  Gary  A.  Trim- 
ble, who  was  well  known  in  the  medical  profes- 
sion, married  Mary  McArthur,  the  youngest 


HIS  ONL  Y  DA  UGHTER.  3  5 

daughter  of  Governor  Duncan  McArthur,  of 
Chillicothe,  Ohio,  a  woman  of  rare  beauty.  His 
second  marriage  was  to  Anne  Porter  Thompson 
a  sister  of  Hon.  James  H.  Thompson.  Dr.  Trim- 
ble represented  his  district  most  ably  in  Congress. 
He  was  a  man  of  the  world,  courteous  and  inter- 
esting. The  double  tie  of  relationship,  brought 
about  by  his  marriage  with  Mr.  Thompson's  sister, 
was  most  happy  for  both  families,  and  their  son 
Allen,  named  for  Governor  Trimble,  was  a  very 
unusual  boy,  as  was  the  daughter  by  the  first 
marriage  with  Mary  McArthur.  Mrs.  Trimble's 
rare  intelligence,  and  exemplary  taste  in  Wash- 
ington life  and  in  their  Chillicothe,  Columbus, 
and  Florida  home,  is  still  a  matter  of  pride  to  all 
her  relations. 

Colonel  Wm.  H.  Trimble  married  Martha 
Buckingham,  of  Zanesville,  Ohio,  the  youngest 
daughter  of  Ebenezer  Buckingham,  a  man  of 
large  wealth  and  high  business  qualifications 
Colonel  Trimble  was  full  of  energy,  ambition, 
and  public  spirit,  and  it  was  an  hereditary  in- 
clination which  led  him  into  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion.  His  home  was  the  result  of  fine 
taste  and  costly  selections  made  by  his  wife. 
Landscape  gardening  was  much  studied  by  them 
both,  and  good  architecture.  Their  place  called 
"Woodland,"  a  suburban  residence,  is  now  owned 
by  Mrs.  Trimble's  nephew,  Rev.  George  Beecher, 


36  FAMILY  RECORD. 

nephew  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  He  has  built 
a  costly  gray-stone  house  also  in  this  beau- 
tiful wooded  lawn.  The  three  children  of  Col- 
onel and  Mrs.  Trimble,  alas !  died  in  the  bloom 
of  youth  and  fortune,  leaving  beautiful  characters. 

Now  we  come  to  Eliza  Jane  Trimble,  the  only 
daughter,  who  married  James  Henry  Thompson, 
September  21,  1837,  when  a  girl  of  twenty-one. 
It  was  a  marriage  blest  with  the  approval  of 
parents  and  the  extravagant  enthusiasm  of 
friends.  On  the  morning  when  the  bridal  party 
started  on  the  wedding  journey  the  sun  shone 
out  in  all  its  splendor.  The  carriage  occupied 
by  the  bride  and  groom,  groomsman  and  brides- 
maid, had  come  from  Kentucky  with  its  colored 
driver,  an  old  family  servant,  who  felt  the  vast 
responsibility  resting  upon  him  to  bring  the 
bridal  party  in  safety  back  to  Kentucky. 

To  Governor  Trimble  and  his  wife  it  was  a 
serious  fact  that  their  only  daughter  was  now 
married.  This  spirited  girl  of  twenty-one,  weigh- 
ing only  ninety  pounds,  with  wavy,  auburn- 
brown  hair  (or  "chestnut  sorrel,"  as  her  husband 
called  it),  brown  eyes,  and  an  unusually  fine  and 
lofty  forehead,  had  married  a  courteous,  indus- 
trious, and  talented  young  lawyer,  whose  family 
was  in  perfect  harmony  with  her  own.  He 
was  a  man  destined  to  claim,  now  and  then, 
in  his  long  laborious  life,  the  luxury  of  being  a 


HIS  ONLY  DAUGHTER.  37 

dreamer.  On  his  wedding-day  he  luxuriated  in 
this  way,  and  was  consequently  very  silent. 
Finally,  being  questioned  by  his  groomsman, 
who  sat  opposite  to  him,  on  his  behavior,  he 
exclaimed : 

"  Can't  you  let  me  spend  one  day  in  silence, 
thanking  God  that  Eliza  was  ever  born?" 

"O  yes,"  said  Mr.  Mathews,  "excuse  me  for 
even  giving  you  an  incidental  glance.  Being  my- 
self an  old  bachelor,  I  did  n't  know  what  etiquette 
required  toward  a  bride.  I  had  always  supposed 
the  groom  spoke  to  her  occasionally;"  where- 
upon the  whole  party  roared  out  laughing,  and 
the  colored  driver  whipped  the  horses  into  a 
terrible  speed. 

Harrodsburg,  Mercer  County,  Ky.,  was  a  home 
similar  in  history  to  the  one  in  Ohio,  which  had 
given  to  the  young,  promising  lawyer  his  wife. 
Much  hospitality  and  much  admiration  was  await- 
ing the  young  couple.  Even  the  slaves  were  joy- 
ful over  the  appearance  of  so  much  festivity. 

"  Lord  'a'  mercy,"  said  old  black  mammy, "  Mr. 
Henry  never  tire  pettin'  the  young  bit  of  a  bride, 
little  enough  to  put  into  his  pocket." 

The  "generous  hospitality,  beautiful  women, 
and  fine  horses,"  for  which  Kentucky  is  noted, 
were  fully  appreciated  by  the  young  Ohio  bride. 
"  Montrose,"  the  home  of  the  groom,  was  much 
more  to  the  bride's  taste  than  the  elegant  place 

98622 


38  FAMILY  RECORD. 

of  Colonel  George  Thompson,  their  uncle,  so 
celebrated,  with  its  three  thousand  acres,  three 
hundred  .slaves,  deer-park.  Dinner-parties  served 
with  silver-covered  dishes,  and  extravagance  in 
all  directions;  and  while  she  had  presided  at  her 
father's  table,  even  when  a  child,  over  large 
political  dinners  (during  the  ill-health  of  her 
mother)  on  important  occasions — for  instance, 
when  De  Witt  Clinton,  governor  of  the  State  of 
New  York  and  his  staff  were  present — yet  the 
main  thread  of  her  life  had  been  one  of  industry 
and  economy,  except  her  Cincinnati  education, 
which  was  then  considered  a  luxury,  and  her  visits 
to  Boston  and  Saratoga  with  her  father;  and  she 
claimed  little  knowledge  of  the  big  world,  but 
instinctively  she  knew  it;  and  it  was  this  keen 
insight  into  human  nature  and  human  affairs 
which  was  to  distinguish  every  action  of  her 
life.  As  a  child  she  had  been  made  to  rise  at 
midnight  and  pray  with  her  grandmother  (with 
whom  she  slept) ;  to  rise  at  daybreak,  and  ride 
on  horseback  with  her  father ;  and  to  sit  by  her 
mother,  and  complete  tasks  which  were  the  most 
irksome  sometimes  to  her  little  spirited  nature. 
Yet  discipline  was  believed  in  by  the  parents. 
She  had  been  taught  that  to  treat  divine  things 
frivolously  was  wicked.  And  so  the  spirit  of  Ken- 
tucky society,  with  its  wit  and  humor  and  gay- 
ety,  and  its  fields  of  sport,  was  novel  to  her 


HIS  ONLY  DAUGHTER.  39 

mind.  After  having  enjoyed  this  peep  into  the 
Sunny  South,  so  different  in  its  conventionalities 
and  social  usages  from  the  Middle  and  Northern 
States,  the  bride  and  groom  returned  to  Ohio. 

After  residing  with  Governor  Trimble  in  Hills- 
boro  for  a  short  time,  they  went  to  Cincinnati 
to  live.  The  life  there  was  among  the  most 
congenial  friends,  and  Mr.  Thompson's  rank  at 
the  bar  was  high,  as  his  colleagues  were  always 
willing  to  admit. 

Little  "Allen"  and  "Anna,"  the  first  chil- 
dren, were  tenderly  and  daintily  cared  for.  The 
fine  old  gardens  of  Nicholas  Longworth  were  in 
the  near  neighborhood,  and  afforded  a  charming 
resort  for  the  children,  as  the  social  life  at  this 
unusual  home  did  for  the  parents.  Many  years 
afterward,  Mrs.  Thompson  took  her  two  younger 
daughters,  Marie  and  Mary,*  by  invitation,  to 
visit  at  this  old  mansion,  where  the  millionaire 
of  Cincinnati,  in  his  old  age,  walked  about  among 
the  various  members  of  his  household,  like  a 
little  king  out  of  some  fairy  story. 

Mr.  Thompson,  although  a  Kentuckian  by 
birth,  came  of  Virginia  parents,  John  B.  Thomp- 
son and  Nancy  P.  (Robards)  Thompson.  He 
was  the  third  child  in  a  family  of  ten  children. 

*  These  children  wanted  the  same  name,  and  were 
gratified  when  their  parents  told  them  one  might  be  French 
and  the  other  English  Mary. 


40  FAMILY  RECORD. 

His  grandfathers  were  both  officers  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary army,  one  a  colonel,  and  one  a  captain. 
His  father  was  a  lawyer,  who  achieved  an  envia- 
ble reputation  at  the  bar  and  in  local  statesman- 
ship. He  was  of  English  and  Scotch  blood,  and 
his  mother  was  of  Welsh  and  French  Huguenot 
blood.  Mr.  Thompson's  brothers,  Hon.  John  B. 
Thompson,  United  States  senator  from  Kentucky, 
and  Philip  B.  Thompson,  one  of  the  leading  spir- 
its of  the  Kentucky  bar,  and  his  brother  Charles 
Thompson,  were  men  like  himself — possessed  of 
energy  and  ability.  His  five  sisters  were  supe- 
rior women.  One  of  them  married  the  youngest 
brother  of  his  wife,  Hon.  Gary  A.  Trimble.  So 
these  Virginia  families,  the  Thompsons  and  the 
Trimbles,  were  by  ties  related  by  blood,  by  pro- 
fession, and  by  sympathy. 

From  1838  to  1842  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thompson 
remained  in  Cincinnati,  but  removed  to  Hills- 
boro  on  account  of  its  more  healthful  climate, 
where  they  have  ever  since  resided.  Mr.  Thomp- 
son always  engaged  in  a  large  circuit  practice  of 
five  surrounding  counties,  also  in  the  circuit  and 
district  courts  of  the  United  States,  of  Ohio,  and 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State.  (Biograph- 
ical History  of  the  Scioto  Valley,  page  203.)  "In 
the  reports  of  this  court  his  name  and  arguments 
appear  as  counsel  from  1840  to  1894,  as  many 
times,  if  not  more,  as  are  the  number  of  the  vol- 


HIS  ONL  Y  DA  UGHTER.  4 1 

umes  of  the  Reports ;  but  his  best  reputation  was 
achieved  as  a  land  lawyer,  in  the  complex  titles 
of  the  Virginia  Military  District." 

"At  the  time  they  removed  to  Hillsboro,  Gov- 
ernor Trimble  and  Mr.  Thompson  were  both  ar- 
dently supporting  General  Harrison,  the  old-line 
Whig,  and  in  1 844  he  took  an  active  and  prominent 
part  in  favor  of  Mr.  Clay,  and  at  the  last  Whig 
Convention  at  Baltimore  urged  the  nomination 
of  General  Scott.  At  the  beginning  of  the  War 
of  the  Rebellion  he  threw  his  influence  with  the 
Republican  party.  "His  family  were  residing  in 
the  beautiful  home  which  he  had  planned  and 
built,  a  place  which  to-day  is  called  "Forest 
Lawn."  My  first  recollections  of  my  mother 
come  from  these  days,  which  afforded  me  a  joyful 
childhood.  The  face,  the  form,  the  walk,  and 
the  voice  left  an  impression  upon  me  as  a  child, 
of  a  spiritual  nature,  of  a  being  from  whom  much 
light  in  the  home  radiated.  But  little  did  I  think 
of  all  that  mother's  face  and  form  and  walk  and 
voice  would  be  to  me  in  after  years.  There  was 
a  charm  about  my  father  which  captivated  and 
fascinated  me.  The  cheerful  hospitality  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Thompson  in  those  days  in  their  beau- 
tiful home  was  most  generous. 

A  school-friend  of  Anna  Porter  Thompson  has 
latetly  written  the  following  paragraphs:  "Years 
went  by ;  the  spacious  mansion  and  surrounding 


42  FAMILY  RECORD. 

groves  echoed  with  the  sound  of  children's  tiny 
feet,  and  were  full  of  the  music  of  baby  voices. 
Allen  grew  toward  manhood  a  wonderfully  beau- 
tiful boy — such  as  we  dream  Absalom  may  have 
been — his  hair  of  a  flaxen  tinge,  his  eyes  blue  as 
the  skies  of  old  Highland,  his  voice  vibrant  with 
a  boyish  melody,  which  never  left  it,  even  in  his 
mature  years.  He  left  the  University  of  Dela- 
ware to  enter  the  ministry,  and  married  a  hand- 
some brunette  girl,  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Dr. 
George  Crum.  The  parent's  hearts  were  filled 
with  pride  and  content  as  they  realized  how  bril- 
liant the  young  clergyman  was,  what  a  power  in 
the  Church,  what  pathos  and  what  eloquence ; 
but  sorrow  began  to  trace  deep  lines  on  the  faces 
of  the  joyful  parents."  "Anna,  their  oldest  and 
beautiful  daughter,  had  developed  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  into  a  fine  and  noble  womanhood, 
"  when  the  angels  came,"  says  her  classmate, 
"  and  laid  white  roses  on  her  pulseless  breast, 
and  shut  out  forever  the  light  from  her  soul- 
inspiring  eyes."  But  the  crushed  mother  said : 
"Thy  will  be  done."  "It  was  the  faith  which 
had  fed  the  Trimble  blood  for  generations," 
says  this  writer,  "that  compelled  her  to  be  still, 
and  know  that  it  was  God."  A  fortitude  more 
heroic,  a  resignation  more  exalted  than  the  after 
life  of  the  poor,  bereaved  mother,  is  not  for  record ; 
but  to  Mr.  Thompson  there  came  no  surcease  of 


HIS  ONLY  DAUGHTER.  43 

grief,  and  learned  though  he  was,  says  this  same 
writer,  "  he  found  no  balm  in  Gilead."  "  Thou 
wilt  come  no  more,  gentle  Anna,"  he  exclaimed, 
as  he  walked  the  spacious  house  over;  but  "the 
eternal  womanhood  led  her  husband  on,"  and  he 
united  with  the  Church,  and  tried  also  to  say, 
"  Thy  will  be  done."  He  had  interested  himself 
in  helping  to  build  the  Hillsboro  Female  College, 
and  now,  although  Anna,  one  of  its  first  gradu- 
tes  was  gone,  Marie  and  Mary  were  still  to  be 
educated. 

The  declining  years  of  Governor  and  Mrs. 
Trimble  claimed  the  attention  of  their  only 
daughter.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thompson  moved  to 
the  old  residence  with  the  children.  Forest 
Lawn  was  sold  to  Mr.  Joseph  Richards,  who 
still  occupies  and  improves  it  each  year,  and  the 
family  henceforth  resided,  as  they  do  to-day,  un- 
der the  old  ancestral  roof. 

The  sad  days  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  were 
closing  in  about  all,  and  Joseph,  the  second  son, 
entered  the  army,  while  Allen,  the  oldest  son, 
was  raising  his  eloquent  voice  before  crowded 
audiences,  in  pulpits  and  lyceums  over  the  great 
plan  of  salvation,  and  the  war  for  freedom.  He 
exclaims,  on  a  Fourth  of  July,  when  making  an 
oration : 

"On  this  day,  shame  upon  the  man  who 
would  obtrude  his  political  prejudice,  or  theolog- 


44  FAMILY  RECORD. 

ical  dogma,  or  private  pique,  as  an  apple  of  dis- 
cord upon  the  festive,  joyous,  heart-dancing  as- 
semblies of  the  free !  Nay,  this  is  the  day  to 
prove  the  poet's  inspiration  and  truthfulness, 
who  sang, 

'  Divide  as  we  may  in  our  own  native  land, 
To  the  rest  of  the  world  we  are  one.'  " 

He  had,  in  those  days,  charge  of  the  large 
Wesley  Chapel  of  Cincinnati ;  but  the  enormous 
duties  it  brought,  the  vast  audiences,  together 
with  domestic  cares,  were  too  much  for  him. 
Discouragement  and  insufficiency  began  to  take 
hold  of  his  strong  nature.  Must  he  be  defeated 
for  want  of  endurance?  Had  he  miscalculated 
his  strength,  or  would  he  not  glory  in  the  con- 
flict of  life.  These  were  the  thoughts  brought 
keenly  before. him  every  day.  By  "  acting  rashly 
he  might  buy  the  power  of  talking  wisely."  (Em- 
erson.) 

His  gentle-hearted  wife,  with  her  dark, 
handsome  eyes,  looked  on  with  admiration,  be- 
lieving that  he  would  long  live  to  assail  the 
powers  of  darkness,  and  plead  for  the  elevation 
of  the  masses.  But  a  sad  and  silent  elapse 
of  his  work,  of  his  energies,  followed  for  a 
short  time,  and  then  once  .more  he  came  forth, 
like  one  who  had  been  captured  by  an  enemy. 


HIS  ONLY  DAUGHTER.  45 

but  suddenly  released,  and  on  the  rostrum  and 
in  the  pulpit,  even  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher's,  he 
held  vast  crowds  entranced.  There  came  an- 
other Fourth  of  July,  when,  after  an  oration,  he 
took  cold,  and,  pneumonia  following,  he  struggled 
into  the  new  birth  of  the  life  to  come  with  the 
following  words  on  his  lips:  Though  suffering 
intensely,  he  was  well  aware,  he  said,  "  that  the 
icy  stillness  of  promised  death  had  settled  upon 
him."  He  called  for  his  wife,  had  his  little 
daughter  Sallie  on  one  side,  and  his  son  George 
on  the  other,  and  clasping  them  in  silence,  he 
offered  his  wife  and  children  his  last  embrace. 
(See  "Memoirs  of  Allen  T.  Thompson,"  pub- 
lished in  1868.) 

In  the  memoirs  many  resolutions,  such  as  the 
following  are  to  be  found  : 

"He  loved  the  cause  we  still  love  to  honor 
and  perpetuate,  and  we  deem  it  but  a  small 
return  for  what  he  has  done  and  suffered,  that 
we  inscribe  our  tribute  of  respect  and  regard 
upon  the  tablets  which  commemorate  his  vir- 
tues, and  never-to-be-forgotten  labors  among  us. 
But  he  has  passed  to  his  reward,  calmly  and 
sweetly,  as  the  true  Christian  sinks  to  rest,  leav- 
ing us  to  mingle  our  tears,  and  offer  our  deepest 
sympathy  and  kindest  regards  to  his  bereaved 
and  heart-stricken  family." 


46  FAMILY  RECORD. 

He  had  begun  writing  his  autobiography,  and 
among  other  paragraphs  this  one,  regarding  his 
mother,  appears: 

"  I  can  not  refrain  from  a  moment's  tribute  to 
her — my  mother — whose  hand  of  sympathy  was 
never  refused,  and  whose  tremulous  words  of 
wise  warning  and  kind  entreaty,  never  ceased 
till  its  mournful  cadence  was  changed  for  the 
subdued,  but  no  sweeter  tone  of  present  praise; 
who  seems  to  me  now  more  like  an  angel,  too 
pure  for  earth,  but  left  awhile  in  Divine  mercy 
to  woo  and  win  souls  to  Jesus  and  heaven." 

This  experience  and  death  was  a  serious  blow 
to  the  entire  family.  The  old  governor  mourned 
for  his  namesake ;  but  the  martyr  heart  of  Mrs. 
Thompson  spoke  in  language  bold,  clear,  and 
courteous  to  those  who  came  to  offer  sympathy. 

The  widow  and  children  came  to  the  old 
home,  and  were  tenderly  cared  for.  These  old 
rooms,  with  their  large  windows,  the  panes  of 
glass  so  small  and  numerous,  still  let  the  light  of 
heaven  in.  The  wood-fires  burned  brightly,  and 
the  high,  old  mantel-shelfs,  with  their  Doric 
columns  painted  black  and  faced  with  red  brick, 
and  the  red  hearths  upon  which  stood  elegant 
brass  fire-irons  supporting  the  big  logs,  all 
looked  very  quaint  and  attractive  to  the  little 
ones.  The  glow  of  the  fire  fell  upon  some  por- 
traits on  the  opposite  wall,  and  lighted  up  the 


HIS  ONLY  DAUGHTER.  47 

rich  old  family  heirlooms;  and  "Grandma 
Thompson,'-  as  they  called  my  mother,  sat  in 
her  rocking-chair,  with  her  foot  on  a  footstool, 
while  her  fingers  flew  among  the  wool  and  steel 
needles  to  make  little  stockings  for  her  grand- 
children, as  she  had  made  them  for  her  darling 
boy  Allen.  There  were  now,  during  the  war 
times,  five  generations,  fourteen  people  at  the 
table  of  Governor  Trimble. 

Marie  and  Mary  visited  in  Cincinnati,  and 
in  1870  Marie  was  married  to  Dr.  Edward  Rives, 
a  gifted  man  of  high  family  birth  and  unusual 
education.  Mary  went  to  Europe  to  study  art. 
Herbert  Tuttle,  whom  she  met  abroad — a  man  of 
rare  character  and  attainments,  who  was  then 
the  Berlin  correspondent  of  the  London  Daily 
News  a  native  of  Bennington,  Vermont — came 
to  Hillsboro,  where  they  were  married,  July  6, 
1875,  at  the  old  homestead.  They  lived  in  Eu- 
rope for  four  years.  On  their  return  to  America, 
Mr.  Tuttle,  as  teacher  and  historian,  distinguished 
himself  among  scholars.  Dr.  Rives  and  his  wife 
left  Cincinnati  for  the  better  climate  of  Hills- 
boro, where  the  doctor's  large  experience  as  lec- 
turer and  practitioner  in  the  medical  profession 
was  highly  estimated.  Mrs.  Rives,  since  the 
death  of  her  husband,  has  been  a  beautiful  ex- 
ample of  unselfish  devotion  to  parents  and  joy 
to  friends. 


48  FAMILY  RECORD, 

Joseph,  the  second  son,  at  the  close  of  the  war 
went  to  the  far  West,  where,  after  several  years 
engrossed  with  the  fascinations  of  that  life  and 
climate,  he  lost  his  life  after  heroic  endurance. 
And  it  was  thought  that  the  anguish  which  my 
mother  experienced  over  this  the  death  of  her 
third  child  would  terminate  her  own  life.  But 
life  is  not  terminated  by  grief,  else  would  few 
survive  the  terrible  stroke. 

Henry,  the  third  son,  graduated  in  the  med- 
ical college  of  Cincinnati,  but  declined  to  practice 
medicine,  preferring  the  business  life  with  his 
youngest  brother,  John  Burton  Thompson,  in 
Colorado.  They  plunged  into  pioneer  life,  as 
their  forefathers  had  done.  The  unselfishness  of 
Henry  and  John  Burton  in  financial  affairs,  and 
the  generosity  of  the  daughters,  make  the  old 
age  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thompson  serener  than  it 
could  otherwise  be. 

Sallie,  the  daughter  of  Allen  Thompson  and 
Lucy,  his  wife,  the  beautiful  blonde,  married  John 
A.  Collins,  of  Hillsboro,  son  of  Charles  A.  Collins, 
the  lawyer  and  poet.  After  a  few  years  of  happy 
married  life  in  Hillsboro,  the  young  lawyer  pre- 
ferred to  go  West — to  beautiful  Puebla — where 
Sallie  died,  so  young  and  so  beloved. 

George,  the  son,  resides  at  Xenia,  with  his 
mother  and  his  wife,  Maude  (daughter  of  Colonel 


HJS  ONLY  DAUGHTER.  49 

Thomas,  of  London,  O.),  and  two  little  flaxen- 
haired  babies,  the  great-grandsons  of  Judge  and 
Mrs.  Thompson,  who  are  coming,  as  these  lines 
are  being  written,  to  brighten  the  old  ancestral 
home  with  the  ring  of  their  childlike  glee. 

4 


III. 

HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.* 


"And  lie  said  to  them  all,  If  any  man  will  come  after 
me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  daily,  and 
follow  me. 

"For  whosoever  will  save  his  life,  shall  lose  it:  but 
whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for  my  sake,  the  same  shall 
save  it." — LUKE  ix,  23,  24. 


0From  the  Union  Signal,  Chicago,  May  4,  1895. 

51 


SKETCH 

OF  THE  LIFE  OF  MRS.  ELIZA  J.  THOMPSON. 

IT  is  an  old  saying,  and  true  as  it  is  old,  that 
God  not  only  raises  up  people  for  emerges 
cies,  but  also  fits  them  for  these  by  special  op- 
portunities, and  often  by  trials.  The  writer  of 
these  sketches,  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Allen  Trim- 
ble, one  of  Ohio's  honored  governors,  was  born 
in  Hillsboro,  Ohio,  August  24,  1816.  She  grew 
up  in  a  home  characterized  by  comfort  and  cul- 
ture, and  careful  training.  To  the  educational 
advantages  which  an  intelligent  community 
afforded  her,  were  added  those  of  the  schools  of 
Cincinnati,  as  well  as  of  acquaintance  with  many 
of  the  prominent  people  of  the  day. 

Her  marriage  to  the  Hon.  James  H.  Thomp- 
son, September  21,  1837,  brought  her  union  with 
one  of  intellectual  tastes  and  of  unusual  mental 
gifts.  The  heart  of  her  husband  has  proudly 
trusted  in  her,  and  most  lovingly  have  her  sons 
and  daughters  risen  up  to  call  her  blessed. 
Early  in  life  she  confessed  Christ  as  her  Savior; 
and  by  Bible  study  and  prayer  and  gospel 
obedience,  she  sought  to  closely  walk  with  God  ; 
and  she  dwelt  among  her  own  people,  greatly 

53 


54  SKETCH  OF  THE  LIFE  OF 

beloved  by  many,  honored  and  respected  by  all, 
fitted  by  social  standing,  by  training,  by  native 
gifts,  and  by  rare  personal  influence  to  be  a 
leader;  yet,  withal,  modest  and  self-distrusting, 
she  waited  unconsciously  for  the  call  of  the 
Lord. 

The  writer  of  this  Introduction,  having  had 
perfect  understanding  of  all  things  from  the 
very  first  pertaining  to  this  "Crusade"  work, 
believes  that  he  ought  to  say  for  Mrs.  Thomp- 
son, and  all  the  good  women  associated  with 
her  in  this  undertaking,  that  they  went  out  in 
faith,  not  knowing  whither  they  went ;  not 
boldly,  but  modestly;  not  recklessly,  but  con- 
sciously constrained  of  the  Lord.  They  never 
thought  of  the  publicity  and  honor  that  future 
years  might  bring  them,  but  in  a  prayerful  spirit 
they  tried  to  meet  the  present  duty. 

He  also  adds  that  some  two  or  three  weeks 
after  the  "Crusade"  began,  it  came  to  him  as 
an  overpowering  conviction  that  we  were  in  the 
beginning  of  a  great  movement,  which  would  be 
spoken  of  in  future  years  like  the  "Reforma- 
tion," or  the  religious  movement  in  the  time  of 
Wesley.  He  so  publicly  expressed  himself  then 
and  has  never  seen  any  reason  to  reverse  his 
opinion. 

These  sketches  of  the  "Crusade,"  written  in 
the  quaint  and  readable  style  so  characteristic 


MRS.  ELIZA  J.  THOMPSON.  55 

of  Mrs.  Thompson,  are  most  heartily  commended 
to  the  friends  of  temperance,  and  to  its  enemies 
as  well,  as  an  important  contribution  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  temperance  cause. 

w.  J.  McSURELY, 

Pastor  Crusade  Church. 
PRESBYTERIAN  PARSONAGE,  \ 
HILLSBORO,  OHIO,  1894.     / 


H1LLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 


I. 

VOLUMES  have  been  written,  and  speeches 
without  number  made,  setting  forth  most 
graphically  the  "Crusade  of  Woman  against 
Rum."  Yet  strange  to  say,  the  call  conies  with 
greater  and  still  greater  earnestness  to  the 
leader  of  the  little  "band  of  seventy:"  "Tell  us 
more  about  the  beginning  of  the  Crusade  in 
.Hillsboro,  and  give  us  all  the  incidents  connected 
with  it,  for  the  story  must  not  die  with  the  veter- 
ans of  1873  and  I874-"  As  the  shadows  lengthen, 
and  the  number  of  that  band  counts  fewer,  I 
am  reminded  that  what  I  do,  I  must  do  quickly. 

Many  years  ago  a  friend  wrote  to  me  for  a 
brief  but  plain  account  of  the  facts  in  connec- 
tion with  the  starting  of  the  Crusade  in  our 
town,  and  of  my  relation  to  it.  Supposing 
at  the  time  that  it  was  for  her  own  personal 
interest  merely,  I  wrote  i*eely,  withholding  no 
part  of  the  truth  as  it  occurred. 

That  narrative  was  adopted  by  Miss  Willard 
in  her  work,  "  Woman  j.nd__TCejnrjerance^L'  and 
has  become  the  "old,  old  story."  After  all 
these  years  I  could  not  change  the  "facts  and 

57 


58  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

figures,"  and  might  not  change  the  diction  to 
profit;  therefore,  with  slight  additions,  I  furnish 
it  as  the  first  of  the  promised  series  of  Crusade 
sketches  from  the  "Old  Fort." 

On  the  evening  of  December  22,  1873,  Dio 
Lewis,  a  Boston  physician  and  lyceum  lecturer, 
delivered  in  Music  Hall,  Hillsboro,  Ohio,  a 
lecture  on  "Our  Girls."  He  had  been  engaged 
by  the  Lecture  Association,  some  months  before, 
to  fill  one  place  in  the  winter  course  of  lectures, 
merely  for  the  entertainment  of  the  people ;  but 
finding  that  he  could  remain  another  evening, 
and  still  reach  his  next  appointment  (Washing- 
ton Court-house),  he  consented  to  give  another 
lecture  on  the  evening  of  the  23d.  At  the  sug- 
gestion of  Judge  Albert  Matthews,  an  old-line 
temperance  man  and  Democrat,  a  free  lecture 
on  temperance  became  the  order  of  the  evening. 

Dr.  Lewis  was  our  guest  until  the  morning 
of  the  23d,  when  my  brother,  Colonel  Wm.  H. 
Trimble,  took  him  to  his  beautiful  "Woodland" 
home,  intending  to  send  him  across  the  country 
to  Washington  Court-house  in  his  own  carriage 
on  the  morning  of  the  24th. 

I  did  not  hear  Dio  Lewis  lecture  because  of 
home  cares  that  required  my  presence;  but  my 
son,  a  youth  of  seventeen,  and  my  daughter 
were  there,  and  they  came  to  me  upon  their  re- 
turn home,  and  in  a  most  earnest  manner  related 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  59 

the  thrilling  incidents  of  the  evening;  how  Dr. 
Lewis  told  of  his  own  mother,  and  several  of 
her  good  Christian  friends,  uniting  in  prayer 
with  and  for  the  liquor-sellers  of  his  native  town, 
until  they  gave  up  their  soul-destroying  busi- 
ness. Dr.  Lewis  said,  "Ladies,  you  might  do 
the  same  thing  in  Hillsboro,  if  you  had  the  same 
faith,"  and  then  turning  to  the  ministers  and 
temperance  men  who  were  upon  the  platform, 
added:  "Suppose  I  ask  the  women  of  this  audi- 
ence to  signify  their  opinions  upon  the  subject?" 
They  all  bowed  their  consent,  and  fifty  or  more 
women  stood  up  in  token  of  approval.  He  then 
asked  the  men  how  many  of  them  would  stand 
as  "backers,"  should  the  women  undertake  the 
work.  Sixty  or  seventy  arose.  "And,"  con- 
tinued my  son,  "  you  are  on  some  committees  to 
do  work  at  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  the  ladies  expect  you  to  go  out  with 
them  to  the  saloons!" 

My  husband,  who  had  returned  from  Adams 
County  Court  that  evening  and  was  feeling  very 
tired,  seemed  asleep  as  he  rested  upon  the  sofa> 
#hile  my  children  in  an  undertone  had  given  me 
all  the  above  facts;  but  as  the  last  sentence  was 
uttered,  he  raised  himself  up  upon  his  elbow  and 
said:  "What  tomfoolery  is  all  that?"  My  dear 
children  slipped  out  of  the  room  quietly,  and  I 
betook  myself  to  the  task  of  consoling  their 


60  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

father,  with  the  promise  that  I  should  not  be  led 
into  any  foolish  act  by  Dio  Lewis,  or  any  asso- 
ciation of  human  beings,  but  added:  "If  the 
Lord  should  show  me  that  it  was  his  will  for  the 
women  to  visit  places  where  liquors  were  sold 
and  drunk,  I  should  not  shrink  from  it." 

After  some  time  my  husband  relaxed  into  a 
milder  mood,  continuing  to  call  the  whole  plan, 
as  he  understood  it,  "tomfoolery."  I  ventured 
to  remind  him  that  the  men  had  been  in  the 
"tomfoolery"  business  a  long  time,  and  sug- 
gested that  it  might  be  God's  will  that  the 
women  should  now  take  their  part. 

Nothing  farther  was  said  upon  the  subject 
until  the  next  morning  after  breakfast.  "Are 
you  going  to  the  church  this  morning?"  asked 
the  children.  I  hesitated,  and  doubtless  showed 
in  my  countenance  the  burden  upon  my  spirit. 
My  husband  walked  the  length  of  the  room  sev- 
eral times,  and  finally  said:  "Children,  you  know 
where  your  mother  goes  to  settle  all  vexed  ques- 
tions. Instead  of  family  prayers  this  morning,  let 
her  alone  to  make  her  decision."  I  went  to  my 
room,  kneeling  before  God  and  his  Holy  Word, 
to  see  what  would  be  sent  me,  when  I  heard  a 
step  at  the  door,  and  upon  opening  it,  my 
daughter  stood  there.  With  tearrful  eyes  she 
handed  me  her  small,  open  Bible  and  said  with 
with  trembling  voice:  "See  what  my  eyes  fell 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  6 1 

upon.  It  must  be  for  you."  She  immediately 
left  the  room,  and  I  sat  down  to  read  the 
wonderful  message  of  the  great  "I  Am"  con- 
tained in  the  1 4.6th  Psalm.  And  as  I  read,  new 
meaning  seemed  to  attach  to  those  promises 
(so  often  read  before),  and  the  Spirit  said:  "This 
is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it."  No  longer  doubting, 
I  quickly  repaired  to  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  took  my  seat  near  the  door.  Several  of  my 
friends  came,  and  urged  me  to  go  up  to  the  front. 
While  hesitating,  I  was  unanimously  chosen  as 
president  or  leader,  Mrs.  General  McDowell 
vice-president,  and  Mrs.  D.  K.  Fenner  secretary 
of  the  strange  work  that  was  to  follow. 

Appeals  were  drawn  up  to  druggists,  saloon- 
keepers, and  hotel  proprietors.  Then  the  pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Rev.  Dr.  McSurely, 
who  had  up  to  this  time  occupied  the  chair,  called 
upon  the  chairman-elect  to  "come  forward  to  the 
post  of  honor."  But  your  humble  servant  could 
not;  her  limbs  refused  to  bear  her.  The  dear 
ladies  offered  me  assistance,  but  it  was  not  God's 
time.  My  brother,  Colonel  Trimble,  observing 
my  embarrassed  situation,  said  to  Dr.  McSurely: 
"  I  believe  the  ladies  will  do  nothing  until  the 
gentlemen  of  the  audience  leave  the  house !" 

After  some  moments,  Dr.  McSurely  said:  "I 
believe  Colonel  Trimble  is  right.  Brethren,  let 


62  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

us  adjourn,  and  leave  this  work  with  God  and 
the  women." 

As  the  last  man  closed  the  door  after  him, 
strength  before  unknown  came  to  me,  and  with- 
out any  hesitation  or  consultation  I  walked  for- 
ward to  the  minister's  table,  and  opened  the  large 
Bible,  explained  the  incidents  of  the  morning; 
then  read,  and  briefly  (as  my  tears  would  allow) 
commented  upon  its  new  meaning  to  me. 

I  then  called  upon  Mrs.  McDowell  to  lead  in 
prayer;  and  such  a  prayer!  It  seemed  as  though 
the  angel  had  brought  down  "live  coals"  from 
off  the  altar  and  touched  her  lips — she  who,  by 
her  own  confession,  had  never  before  heard  her 
own  voice  in  prayer! 

As  we  arose  from  our  knees  (for  all  were 
kneeling  that  morning),  I  asked  Mrs.  Cowden, 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  minister's  wife,  a  grand 
singer  of  the  "olden  style,"  to  start  my  favor- 
ite hymn,  "Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears,"  to 
the  familiar  tune  of  St.  Thomas,  and  turning 
to  the  dear  women,  I  said:  "As  we  all  join  in 
singing  this  hymn,  let  us  form  in  line,  two 
and  two,  and  let  us  at  once  proceed  to  our 
sacred  mission,  trusting  alone  in  the  'God  of 
Jacob." ' 

It  was  all  done  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to 
write  it.  Every  heart  was  throbbing  and  every 
woman's  countenance  betrayed  her  solemn  re- 


HILLSBORO   CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  63 

alization  of  the  fact  that  she  was  going  "about 
her  Father's  business." 

As  this  "band  of  mysterious  beings"  first 
encountered  the  outside  gaze,  and  as  they  passed 
from  the  door  of  the  old  church  and  reached 
the  street  beyond  the  large  churchyard,  they 
were  singing  these  prophetic  words  : 

"  Far,  far  above  thy  thought 

His  counsel  shall  appear, 
When  fully  He  the  work  hath  wrought  • 
That  caused  thy  needless  fear." 

On  we  marched  in  solemn  silence,  looking 
neither  to  the  right  nor  left,  until  we  arrived  at 
the  drugstore  of  Dr.  Wm.  Smith  on  East  Main 
Street.  Mrs.  Milton  Boyd  had  been  appointed 
to  read  "the  appeal"  on  that  morning,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  do  so.  From  the  minutes  so  carefully 
kept  by  our  secretary,  Mrs.  D.  K.  Fenner,  we 
extract  the  following: 

"Dr.  Wm.  Smith,  after  much  persuasion,  signed  the 
'  druggists  pledge,'  with  the  understanding  that  he,  as  a 
physician,  had  a  right  to  prescribe  liquor  and  sell  on  his 
own  prescription. 

"Seybert  and  Isaman  signed  very  willingly,  and  assured 
the  ladies  of  their  good  wishes. 

"Mr.  James  Brown,  Sr.,  signed  also  willingly. 

"  Mr.  Wm.  H.  H.  Dunn  postponed  his  decision." 
,  OHIO,  December  24,  1873. 


Before  entering  upon  the  second  chapter,  I 
yield  to  the  entreaty  of  many  -friends  and  insert 


64  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

my  husband's  first  impressions  of  this  memo- 
rable morning.  The  second  chapter  gives  the 
story  of  the  "  Crusade  Hymn,'*  and  why  I  chose 
it  as  our  marching  song. 

Judge  Thompson's  account  of  this  move- 
ment, taken  from  his  History  of  the  County  of 
Highland:  "The  town  of  Hillsboro  has  always 
been  noted  for  its  interest  in  the  encouragement 
of  all  systems  of  education,  and  few  populations 
have  excelled  that,  of  Hillsboro  in  the  promotion 
of  female  education ;  the  result  of  which  has  been 
to  establish  a  high  standard  of  refinement  of  both 
sexes,  and  an  unusually  independent  order  of 
thought  and  action  between  them,  as  is  evidenced 
by  the  fact  that  the  Woman's  Temperance  Cru- 
sade had  its  birth  in  the  village,  and  has  already 
breathed  its  infant  breath  throughout  Christen- 
dom. Books  have  been  written,  voluminous 
reports  have  been  made,  and  eloquent  speeches 
have  been  uttered  as  to  the  minute  details  of 
the  origin  of  the  Woman's  Temperance  Crusade 
in  Hillsboro,  and  most  of  them  are  true  in  state- 
ment and  in  fact;  but  nowhere  has  pen  ven- 
tured a  description  of  the  band — the  cohort, 
the  troupe.  No!  rather  the  apparition  of  sev- 
enty women  in  sable  black  arrayed,  and  in  set- 
tled line  of  march,  moving  as  when  first  seen 
on  the  streets  of  Hillsboro. 

"It  was  a  dark,  cloudy,  cold,  and  still  Decem- 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  65 

ber  day,  no  sun  shining  from  above,  no  wind 
playing  around,  a  little  snow  leisurely  dropping 
down,  and  under  the  magic  command  of  their 
own  leaders,  chosen  on  the  instant  at  the 
hurried  previous  organization  at  the  Presby- 
terian church,  the  procession  moved  with ' 
solemn  steps,  as  if  each  woman  had  been 
trained  for  that  day's  work  from  the  cradle. 

'  Not  a  drum  was  heard,  not  a  funeral  note,' 

but  the  poetic  mind  instantly  hummed  the  (Ode 
of  Charles  Wolfe  at  the  Burial  of  Sir  John 
Moore.'  Husbands  saw  their  wives,  sons  and 
daughters  their  mothers,  and  neighbors  their 
friends,  moving  along  with  the  strange  appari- 
tion, and  knew  not  what  it  meant,  until  before 
some  liquor  saloon  or  hotel  or  drugstore,  you 
could  hear  the  singing  of  some  familiar  hymn 
warble  through  the  air  in  tones  of  the  most 
touching  note ;  and  then,  solemn  silence  prevail- 
ing up  and  down  street,  the  utterance  of  a  soul- 
stirring  prayer  made  by  some  lady,  with  all 
others  kneeling  around  on  curbstone  or  pave- 
ment or  door-sill,  could  be  heard  ascending  to  the 
throne  of  God  to  avert  the  curse  of  intemperance. 
"No  crowd  of  shouting  boys  followed;  no 
cliques  of  consulting  men  on  the  street  corners 
were  gathered;  every  countryman  halted  his 
team  in  awe;  no  vociferous  angry  words  were 

5 


66  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

heard,  and  no  officer  commanded  the  peace — 
for  it  was  death-like  peace.  Throughout,  the 
day,  songs  and  prayers  were  heard  at  ail  places 
kept  for  the  sale  of  liquors,  and  at  night  con- 
sultation was  resumed  at  the  church,  from 
whence  the  "  Phoenix-like  body,"  springing  from 
the  ashes  of  the  "funeral  pyre"  of  woman's  im- 
molation, had  emerged  in  the  morning;  and  there, 
in  making  reports,  prayer,  and  singing  in  spirit 
as  never  before,  was  sung  on  Christmas  Eve : 

'  Ring  out  the  grief  that  saps  the  mind, 
For  those  that  here  we  see  no  more ; 
Ring  out  the  feud  of  rich  and  poor, 
Ring  in  redress  to  all  mankind.' 

"They  remained  until  the  moon  in  the  last 
quarter  lighted  their  pathway  to  homes,  whose 
inmates  as  spectators  of  the  troupe  when  the 
first  curtain  was  raised,  stood  around  the  hearth- 
stones in  as  much  wonder  as  if  a  company  of 
celestial  beings  had  on  that  day  come  down 
from  the  skies. 

"Such  is  a  dim  outline  of  the  first  parade  of 
the  Woman's  Temperance  Crusade  at  Hillsboro; 
and  well  may  it  be  said  of  the  'opening  of  the 
heavens'  on  that  memorable  day,  that  'He  who 
made  a  decree  for  the  rain  and  a  way  for  the 
lightning '  will  alone  limit  its  effects  on  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth." 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  67 

II. 

STORY  OF  THE  "CRUSADE  HYMN." 

WHEN  David,  "  the  stripling,"  essayed  to  go 
out  against  the  vaunting  "Goliath  of 
Gath,"  his  only  reason  for  so  daring  a  feat  was 
that  the  God  of  Israel  had  in  the  past  enabled 
him  to  kill  both  a  lion  and  a  bear.  "And  David 
said  to  Saul,  the  king  of  Israel,"  (whose  appro- 
val he  must  have),  "  the  Lord  that  delivered  me 
out  of  the  paw  of  the  lion  and  out  of  the  paw 
of  the  bear,  he  will  deliver  me  out  of  the  hand 
of  this  Philistine.  .  .  .  And  Saul  said  unto 
David,  Go,  and  the  Lord  be  with  thee." 

Thus  the  inspiration  of  past  experiences  aided 
the  earnest  women  in  their  new  departure,  and 
gave  to  their  untrained  leader  fresh  courage  and 
faith,  as  she  remembered  how,  in  the  "  long 
ago,"  her  heart  had  been  taught  to  sing : 

"Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears." 

Early  in  the  winter  of  1852,  when  our  chil- 
dren numbered  six,  the  eldest  son  away  from 
home  at  school,  and  the  youngest  an  infant  of  a 
few  months,  the  scarlet  fever  became  an  epi- 
demic in  our  town,  and  three  of  our  dear  chil- 
dren became  victims  to  it. 

About  the  same  time  a  valued  young  woman, 


68  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

who  had  been  in  the  family  for  some  years,  was 
taken  with  quinsy,  and  was  removed  by  her  par- 
ents to  their  home,  two  miles  in  the  country. 
Thus  I  was  left  with  an  infant,  three  children  con- 
fined to  their  beds,  and  no  assistance  save  a  little 
colored  girl  about  ten  years  of  age,  and  a  stable 
boy,  who,  by  the  way,  knew  everybody,  and  was 
able  to  serve  us  a  good  purpose  in  searching  for 
needed  help.  In  the  evening,  however,  he  re- 
turned after  a  fruitless  quest,  and  reported :  "  Can't 
get  nobody — all  fear'd  of  dat  'zease."  So  I  kept 
on,  and  provided  for  the  various  needs  of  my 
family  as  best  I  could,  until  my  husband,  who 
always  had  a  very  tender  feeling  for  ladies  who 
were  oppressed  with  work  (yet  had  no  native 
tact  to  aid),  devised  a  plan  by  which  he  might 
do  me  essential  service.  He  mounted  his  horse, 
and  started  to  the  farm,  three  miles  from  town, 
trusting  that  the  wife  of  the  tenant  might  be  in- 
duced to  come  to  our  rescue  in  such  an  emer- 
gency, as  she  had  no  children,  and  had  once  lived 
with  us.  But  there  was  a  stream  to  cross  before 
reaching  the  farm,  and  it  was  frozen  over.  Re- 
gardless of  the  smooth  shoes  of  his  horse,  he 
ventured,  and  lo !  the  noble  horse  fell,  crushing 
the  right  leg  of  the  rider.  The  sufferer  was 
gently  lifted  by  a  stalwart  farmer  passing  with 
his  sled,  laid  upon  the  straw,  the  poor,  limping 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  69 

horse  tied  to  the  hinder  part;  and  so  he  was 
safely,  but  painfully,  brought  to  our  door. 

The  sight  and  the  history  would  have  done 
for  me  what  "  the  last  pound  "  did  for  the  camel's 
back,  but  for  the  gratitude  that  came  welling  up 
in  my  heart  that  my  poor  husband's  limb  was 
not  broken,  neither  was  our  noble  family  horse 
killed ! 

With  such  addition  to  my  cares,  however,  it 
can  well  be  supposed,  after  nine  days  and  nights 
of  weary,  sleepless  nursing  and  toiling,  with  no 
change  for  the  better,  my  heart  and  strength 
began  to  fail,  and  I  reasoned  thus  with  myself 
about  midnight:  I  have  tried  since  a  child  to 
love  the  Savior ;  I  have  denied  myself,  taken  up 
my  cross,  and  made  an  honest  effort  to  follow 
him — and  now  I  am  deserted,  and  in  the  town 
of  my  nativity  I  am  forsaken  !  Quick  as  thought 
the  enemy  said:  u  I  '11  tell  you. what  to  do:  leave 
the  Church;  for  you  are  a  hypocrite  if  you  keep 
your  name  there,  feeling  as  you  do." 

I  at  once  laid  my  sleeping  infant  in  its  cradle? 
determined  to  act  promptly,-  and  write  a  note  to 
our  Methodist  minister.  As  I  arose  to  do  so,  an 
inward  voice  seemed  to  say,  "  Open  that  hymn- 
book  first;"  and  as  I  looked  around,  the  old  book 
of  songs  was  taken  from  its  place,  and  carelessly 
opened,  without  design  or  hope  on  my  part,  show- 


70  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

ing  that  it  was  all  of  love  and  pity  that  John 
Wesley's  hymn,  "Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears," 
was  the  one  that  first  met  my  gaze,  and  caused 
the  instant  and  complete  transformation  that  fol- 
lowed. Taking  a  seat  by  the  cradle,  the  emotions 
of  my  heart  found  utterance  in  the  song  of  songs, 
"  How  firm  a  foundation,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord  !" 
and  forgetting  that  the  poor  patients  might  be 
aroused,  one  verse  after  another  was  sung,  sweeter 
than  ever  before  it  seemed,  until  from  the  ad- 
joining room  my  husband  called  out,  "  Eliza, 
what  do  you  find  to  sing  about?" 

I  said:  "I  am  singing  about  our  holy  relig- 
ion." He  reached  out  his  hands  to  me : 

"  Wife,  I  know  you  are  an  honest  woman ; 
now,  tell  me,  do  you  find  anything  in  your  relig- 
ion to  comfort  you — situated  as  you  now  are?" 

I  answered  him  honestly  that  I  had  never  felt 
happier  in  my  life !  With  a  firm  grasp  of  my 
hand,  he  said,  emphatically:  ''Then  I  must 
seek  it!" 

Thus  had  the  "Comforter"  not  only  enabled 
me  to  "give  to  the  winds  my  fears,"  but  had 
taught  my  anxious  heart  to 

Leave  to  His  sov'reign  sway 
To  choose  and  to  command," 

in  the  work  which  had  hitherto  caused  my 
greatest  care.  Can  it  be  wondered  that  this 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  71 

blessed  hymn,  with  all  its  sacred  influences, 
should  come  to  my  mind  when  we  were  about  to 
step  out  upon  an  untried  way,  and  venture  across 
the  line  of  public  sentiment — all  helpless,  save 
in  the  strength  which  God  supplies  ? 

But  this  is  not  all.  No  one  could  be  found 
who  was  willing,  for  "love  or  money,"  to  risk  the 
"plague"  and  do  a  day's  washing;  therefore  an 
airy  place  had  been  prepared,  our  unwashed 
clothes  had  been  assorted  and  disinfected,  and 
we  were  trusting  and  waiting.  Good  Katharine 
had  recovered,  and  had  come  as  an  angel  of 
mercy  to  sit  with  the  children  and  thus  relieve 
me  for  other  work. 

The  crisis  of  the  disease  had  passed  safely  with 
our  dear  little  ones,  and  our  hearts  were  full  of  grat- 
itude. The  winter  seemed  gone,  for  "  the  singing 
of  birds  had  come,  and  the  voice  of  the  turtle  was 
heard  in  the  land."  New  courage  took  possession 
of  our  souls,  and  although  the  last  word  of  "  kindly 
command  "  from  my  husband — recovered  from 
his  lameness,  and  on  the  way  to  county  court — 
as  he  drove  off  was,  "See  that  a  bonfire  is  made 
of  the  soiled  clothes,  below  the  barn,"  other 
plans  were  in  the  head  of  the  one  who  had  put 
so  many  careful  stitches  into  those  little  gar- 
ments; therefore,  "with  malice  toward  none,"  as 
soon  as  he  was  out  of  sight,  "John,  the  faithful," 
was  quietly  directed  to  make  a  fire  in  the  laun- 


72  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

dry  furnace,  and  fill  the  boilers.  Then,  as  poor, 
blind  Samson  cried  to  God  for  strength  "  this 
once,"  before  taking  hold  of  the  pillars,  so  did  I 
implore  the  evidence  of  strength  before  acting 
upon  my  own  judgment. 

Well,  the  answer  of  approval  came,  and  by 
two  o'clock  my  clothes-lines  in  the  back  lawn 
were  filled  with  snowy  garments  and  household 
linen,  and  I  felt  none  the  worse !  While  poor 
John,  with  few  words  but  a  fixed  expression 
of  amazement,  put  all  things  in  order  for  me. 
A  nice  appetizing  dinner  was  then  prepared  for 
the  delicate  part  of  the  family,  and  a  hearty  one 
for  the  laborers.  Surely,  I  could  never  doubt 
the  promise :  "  As  thy  days,  so  shall  thy  strength 
be." 

In  all  this  I  feared  nothing  so  much  as  the 
criticism  of  my  deaf  father,  who  came  over  each 
day  to  inquire  for  the  sick  and  to  care  for  our 
temporal  wants — my  good  mother  being  quite 
unable  to  leave  her  room.  As  the  dear  old  gen- 
tleman rode  up,  I  cautioned  the  grown  ones  of 
the  nursery  to  keep  quiet;  but  his  keen  eye 
spied  the  large  washing  upon  the  lines,  and  at 
once  congratulated  me  upon  having  found  a 
laundress.  The  smiles  that  passed  told  the  tale, 
and  with  a  most  reproving  look  at  his  only  daugh- 
ter, he  said :  "  My  child,  I  am  surprised  at  you." 
But  with  a  forgiving  kiss,  he  only  added :  "  It  is 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  73 

useless  to  ask  you  to  take  care  of  yourself." 
And  surely  he  would  have  been  confirmed  in  his 
opinion  had  he  lived  to  witness  the  Crusade  of 
1873  and  I8745  but  his  noble  heart  would  have 
been  with  us. 


III. 
STORY  OF  SALOON  VISITATION. 

AT  the  time  of  the  "  new  departure  "  on  the 
part  of  the  ladies  of  Hillsboro,  there  were 
four  hotels,  four  drugstores,  and  thirteen  saloons 
where  intoxicating  liquors  could  be  obtained, 
there  being  little  hindrance,  save  the  conscien- 
tious scruples  of  individual  cases ! 

When  the  "  Praying  Band,"  as  it  was  called 
in  ridicule,  first  started  out  upon  its  divinely- 
appointed  mission,  as  the  procession  of  somber- 
looking  beings  passed  up  High  Street  from  the 
church  where  their  first  meeting  of  consecration 
had  just  been  held,  Dr.  Dio  Lewis  was  driven 
slowly  by  on  his  way  from  Colonel  Trimble's 
home  to  Washington  Court-house. 

On  the  following  morning,  the  25th,  many  of 
the  earnest  women  and  quite  a  goodly  number 
of  zealous  brethren  assembled  promptly  at  nine 
o'clock  in  the  Presbyterian  church  to  renew  their 
consecration  vows.  After  a  season  of  fervent 


74  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

prayer,  song,  and  testimony,  it  was  voted  to  re- 
spect a  previous  appointment  for  religious  serv- 
ices in  the  Episcopal  church — quite  a  number  of 
our  band  being  members  of  that  Church,  and 
their  rector,  Rev.  John  Ely,  one  of  our  loyal 
supporters.  It  was  also  thought  wise  to  give 
to  our  families  the  attention  due  the  established 
usage  of  Christmas-day.  Therefore,  after  ad- 
journment, an  informal  prayer-meeting  was  held, 
which  strengthened  the  hearts  of  all  greatly,  and 
better  prepared  the  women  for  the  services  of  the 
following  morning. 

The  cold,  clear,  crisp  morning  of  the  26th 
dawned  upon  us  with  a  sparkling  snow  upon 
the  ground,  but  paths  were  shoveled  and  swept 
by  new  hands  that  morning,  and,  as  we  passed, 
heads  were  uncovered  and  earnest  benedictions 
showered  upon  us  by  many  a  manly  heart,  which 
dared  to  be  on  the  right  side.  The  nine  o'clock 
prayer-meeting  was  opened  by  Scripture  reading, 
prayer,  and  song;  earnest  exhortations  and  words 
of  hearty  support  and  encouragement  were  offered 
by  Dr.  McSurely  and  others. 

The  Committee  of  Visitation,  after  singing  a 
hymn,  adjourned  to  meet  at  the  same  time  and 
place  the  next  morning;  then,  forming  in  pro- 
cession, it  visited  hotels  and  saloons  in  the  fol- 
lowing order — quoting  from  minutes : 

"Mrs.  Thompson  was  appointed  to  present 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.        .       75 

appeal  at  hotels  and  saloons."  "  The  first  call 
was  made  at  the  Uhrig  saloon,  on  East  High 
Street.  There  we  were  met  by  smooth  words  and 
fair  promises,  but  no  signatures."  "  Kramer  House 
proprietor— not  at  home"  "  Ellicott  House — the 
polite  landlord  said  he  did  hope  we  would  suc- 
ceed, but  could  not  close  his  bar  unless  the  others 
would."  "  The  kind  proprietor  of  the  Woodrow 
House  half  agreed  to  give  up  the  miserable  busi- 
ness, and  said  he  certainly  would  if  the  other 
hotels  of  the  town  would  close  up." 

It  was  quite  evident  to  the  minds  of  the 
ladies  that  the  question  with  these  gentlemen 
turned  upon  the  pivot  of  popularity  and  finan- 
cial success,  and  not  upon  any  innate  love  of 
the  curse,  for  the  fact  was  too  apparent  that 
the  effects  of  liquor -drinking  had  proven  the 
hardest  part  of  a  landlord's  office. 

Fortified  with  hope  in  the  evident  unrest  of 
these  men,  who  were  building  upon  sandy 
foundations — their  hope  of  gain — our  next  call 
was  at  the  saloon  of  John  Bales.  He  was  cool 
and  polite,  treated  the  subject-matter  of  our  visit 
in  a  purely  business  way,  proposed  selling  out 
his  entire  stock,  billiard  tables  and  all,  at  two- 
thirds  of  invoiced  value,  and  sell  no  more  liquor! 
As  this  was  quite  out  of  the  line  of  our  warfare 
against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places,  we 
turned  our  faces  towards  the  first-class  saloon 


76  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

(as  it  was  called)  kept  by  Robert  Ward,  on  High 
Street,  a  resort  made  famous  by  deeds,  the  mem- 
ory of  which  nerved  the  heart  and  paled  the 
cheek  of  some  among  us,  as  the  seventy  entered 
the  open  door  of  the  "witty  Englishman"  (as 
his  patrons  were  wont  to  call  the  popular  Ward). 
Doubtless  he  had  learned  of  our  approach,  as  he 
not  only  propped  the  heavy  door  open,  but  with 
the  most  perfect  suavity  of  manner  held  it  until 
the  ladies  all  passed  in;  then,  closing  it,  walked 
to  his  accustomed  stand  behind  the  bar. 

Seizing  the  strange  opportunity,  the  leader 
addressed  him  as  follows:  "Well,  Mr.  Ward,  this 
must  seem  to  you  a  strange  audience!  I  sup- 
pose, however,  that  you  understand  the  object  of 
our  visit?"  "Robert"  by  this  time  began  to 
perspire  freely,  and  remarked  that  he  would  like 
to  have  a  talk  with  Dio  Lewis.  Mrs.  Thompson 
said:  "Dr.  Lewis  has  nothing  whatever  to  do 
with  the  subject  of  our  mission.  As  you  look 
upon  some  of  the  faces  before  you,  and  observe 
the  marks  of  sorrow,  caused  by  the  unholy  busi- 
ness that  you  ply,  you  will  find  that  it  is  no 
wonder  we  are  here.  We  have  come,  however, 
not  to  threaten,  not  even  to  upbraid,  but  in  the 
name  of  our  Divine  Friend  and  Savior,  and  in 
his  spirit,  to  forgive,  and  to  commend  you  to  his 
pardon,  if  you  will  but  agree  to  abandon  a  busi- 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  77 

ness  that  is  so  damaging  to  our  hearts  and  to  the 
peace  of  our  homes  !" 

The  hesitation  and  embarrassment  of  the 
famous  saloon-keeper  seemed  to  afford  (as  the 
leader  thought)  an  opportunity  for  prayer;  so, 
casting  her  eye  around  upon  that  never-to-be- 
forgotten  group  of  earnest  faces,  she  said,  very 
softly:  "Let  us  pray."  Instantly  all,  even  the 
poor  liquor-seller  himself,  were  upon  their  knees, 
Mrs.  McSurely,  wife  of  the  Presbyterian  minister, 
was  asked  by  Mrs.  Thompson  to  lead  in  prayer, 
but  she  declined.  The  spirit  of  utterance  then 
came  upon  the  latter,  and,  as  a  seal  of  God's 
approval  upon  the  self-sacrificing  work  there 
inaugurated,  the  Holy  Spirit  touched  all  hearts. 
As  we  arose  from  our  knees,  dear  Mrs.  Doggett 
(now  in  heaven)  broke  forth  in  her  sweet,  pa- 
thetic notes,  and  all  joined  with  her  in  singing: 

"There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood, 

Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins; 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood, 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains." 

The  scene  that  followed,  in  a  most  remarkable 
manner  portrayed  the  spirit  of  our  holy  religion. 
Poor  wives  and  mothers,  who  the  day  before 
would  have  crossed  the  street  to  avoid  passing 
by  a  place  so  identified  with  their  heartaches, 
their  woes,  and  their  deepest  humiliation,  in 


78  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

tearful  pathos  were  now  pleading  with  this  de- 
luded brother  to  accept  the  world's  Redeemer  as 
his  own.  Surely,  "  God  is  Love!" 

Shortly  after  the  ladies  retired  from  this  their 
first  saloon  prayer-meeting,  a  message  from  Dr. 
Lewis,  at  Washington  Court-house,  was  received 
by  Colonel  William  H.  Trimble  to  this  effect: 
"  The  women  over  here  are  terribly  in  earnest." 
As  the  report  of  union  in  this  strange  work  first 
greeted  our  ears  and  strengthened  our  hearts, 
"  Praise  ye  the  Lord"  seemed  more  and  more  a 
fitting  prelude  to  our  "  Magna  Charta" — the 
1 46th  Psalm — and  we  entered  upon  the  Saturday 
morning  prayer  service  with  renewed  faith  and 
courage. 

Dr.  Mathews,  president  of  the  Hillsboro  Fe- 
male College,  the  renowned  and  venerated  edu- 
cator of  woman  in  our  community  for  so  many 
years,  presided  over  the  meeting,  and  spoke  to 
our  hearts  such  words  of  earnest  commenda- 
tion and  sympathy  that  the  "doubting  ones" 
could  but  have  been  convinced  as  was  Thomas 
of  old. 

William  H.  H.  Dunn,  the  druggist,  who  was 
not  at  his  place  of  business  on  the  morning  of 
the  visit  by  the  "  band  of  ladies,"  sent  in  his 
reply  to  their  "appeal."  It  read  as  follows: 

"  LADIES, — In  compliance  with  my  agreement  I  give  you 
this  promise,  that  I  will  carry  on  my  business  in  the  future 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  79 

as  I  have  in  the  past;  that  is  to  say,  that  in  the  sale  of 
intoxicating  liquors  I  will  comply  with  the  law,  nor  will  I 
sell  to  any  person  whose  father,  mother,  wife,  or  daughter 
send  me  a  written  request  not  to  make  such  sale." 

There  was  some  discussion  as  to  whether  Mr. 
Dunn's  pledge  should  be  received  as  satisfactory. 
Remarks  were  made  by  the  gentlemen  as  well 
as  the  ladies,  but  it  was  soon  apparent  that  there 
were  mothers  in  that  audience  who  could  never 
vote  to  have  "his  business"  carried  on  "in  the 
future  as  in  the  past."  Action  was  therefore 
deferred. 

Next  in  order  came  a  message  from  Mr.  Ben- 
net,  the  master  of  the  Hillsboro  Grange:  "Say 
to  the  ladies  for  me,  God  bless  them;  and,  poor 
man  that  I  am,  I  will  back  them  with  fifty  dol- 
lars if  it  is  needed." 

It  was  resolved  at  this  Saturday  morning 
meeting  to  hold  a  mass  temperance-meeting  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  on  Sunday  even- 
ing, December  28th,  and  a  committee  of  three 
ministers — Rev.  Dr.  McSurely,  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church;  Rev.  Mr.  Cowden,  of  the  Methodist ; 
and  Rev.  John  Ely,  of  the  Episcopal  Church — 
were  chosen  to  take  charge  of  said  meeting,  in- 
viting both  ladies  and  gentlemen  to  speak.  Rev. 
Mr.  Ely  was  also  requested  to  invite  Father  Dona- 
hue, of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  his  temperance 
society,  to  join  us  in  our  work. 


80  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

After  uniting  in  a  fervent  prayer  and  singing 
part  of  a  favorite  hymn,  the  committee  adjourned 
to  meet  on  Monday  morning,  at  the  same  time 
and  place.  Procession  then  formed,  and  visits 
were  made  at  two  hotels  and  three  saloons.  One 
ot  the  saloon-keepers  expressed  a  great  desire  to 
get  out  of  the  business.  With  this  encouraging 
prospect  we  ended  the  first  week  of  the  "Cru- 
sade" in  Hillsboro. 


IV. 

HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

F^vECEMBER  27,  1873,  we  nnd  recorded  on 
1— J  the  minutes  of  our  "Woman's  Temperance 
L/eague,"  the  first  desire  expressed  on  the  part  of 
a  liquor-dealer  of  Hillsboro  "  to  quit  the  busi- 
ness." In  a  few  days  after  that,  two  others  man- 
ifested a  willingness  to  be  relieved!  The  ways 
and  means  were  under  consideration,  and  well- 
chosen  committees  were  quietly  intrusted  with 
the  cases. 

In  the  meantime,  the  morning  prayer-meetings 
were  continued  with  increasing  interest.  The 
daily  visitations  of  the  band,  now  numbering 
over  eighty,  to  "  all  places  where  liquors  were 
sold  and  drunk  on  the  premises"  were  faithfully 
kept  up.  •  The  mass-meeting  in  Music  Hall,  or 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  8 1 

in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  several  even- 
ings of  each  week,  were  always  well  attended  and 
of  great  interest  to  the  public,  as  reports  were 
made  there  by  the  zealous  workers  of  incidents 
"along  the  weary  way,"  and  the  speeches,  pray- 
ers, and  songs  were  of  that  enthusiastic  order 
peculiar  to  the  times. 

January  3d,  the  morning  prayer  service  was 
of  a  most  impressive  nature.  The  committee 
which  had  been  appointed  to  present  the  "  Physi- 
cian's Pledge,"  Mrs.  McSurely,  Mrs.  Thomas 
Barry,  Mrs.  Jessie  K.  Pickering,  Mrs.  James  Pat- 
terson, Mrs.  William  Barry,  reported  as  follows  : 
"  Found  the  County  Medical  Convention  in  ses- 
sion; were  presented  to  the  Convention  and  po- 
litely received."  The  object  of  the  visit  being 
made  known,  the  physicians  there  present  signed 
an  approved  physician's  pledge  to  the  number  of 
seventeen  of  Highland  County's  best-known  phy- 
sicians. 

This  was  received  with  thanksgiving,  as  those 
intrusted  with  the  care  of  families  know  too  well 
the  fearful  risk  of  intoxicating  prescriptions  from 
the  family  doctor,  not  to  appreciate  the  value  of 
such  a  victory. 

When  the  hour  for  business  had  passed,  and 
the  usual  visiting  ordeal  was  in  order,  the  ladies 
were  most  agreeably  surprised  by  the  announce- 
ment that  they  would  be  expected  to  call  upon 

6 


82  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

Colonel  Cook  to  express  their  thanks  that  he  had 
closed  the  bar  of  the  "  Ellicott  House."  After 
singing,  with  an  unusual  amount  of  zeal,  "  Praise 
God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow,"  the  proces- 
sion formed,  and  at  once  proceeded  to  make  this 
visit.  The  ladies  were  politely  met  by  the  genial 
landlord  and  his  kindly  wife,  and  ushered  into 
the  spacious  parlor  of  this  old  and  popular  hotel. 

During  the  conversation  that  followed,  the 
colonel  complained  that  the  temperance  public 
had  not  stood  by  him,  when,  on  a  former  occa- 
sion, he  had  closed  his  bar,  but  patronized  hotel- 
where  liquors  were  sold. 

The  leader  of  the  band,  feeling  the  embarrass 
ment  of  the  situation,  proposed  that  all  should 
unite  in  prayer  that  the  temperance  people 
"  stand  by  their  colors,"  and  with  heart  and  soul 
sustain  their  brother  in  his  effort  for  the  right. 
It  was  most  natural  that  an  earnest  petition  should 
be  added  for  the  proprietor,  who  was  bravely  fac- 
ing the  losses  as  well  as  the  crosses  of  the  situa- 
tion. Blessings  from  full  hearts  were  invoked 
upon  the  colonel,  his  wife,  and  his  house,  and 
as  that  honest  prayer  was  ended,  all  joined  in  a 
sweet  song  of  thanksgiving,  and  parted  with  the 
most  cordial  good  feeling. 

The  Visiting  Committee  proceeded  to  call  upon 
the  other  hotels  that  morning,  to  secure,  if  possi- 
ble, the  consent  of  the  proprietors  to  close  their 


HILLSLORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  83 

bars  on  the  approaching  stock-sale  day.  Saloons 
were  also  appealed  to  upon  the  subject.  Some 
consented;  others  promised  to  be  very  careful  in 
their  sales !  Our  secretary  furnished  the  follow- 
ing facts  after  the  sale-day  was  over : 

"  The  result  of  the  day's  work  was  most  satis- 
factory. There  was  less  drunkenness  on  the  streets 
than  had  ever  before  been  known  on  a  stock-sale 
day;  indeed,  almost  none  at  all!" 

Some  matters  of  business  were  looked  into 
pertaining  to  the  charitable  feature  of  our  work. 
Then  it  was  determined  to  appoint  a  committee 
of  three  ladies  to  report  to  Mr.  Dunn  that  the 
Woman's  Temperance  Association  could  not  con- 
scientiously agree  to  his  last  proposed  "  druggist's 
pledge ;"  but  instructions  were  given  to  this  com- 
mittee of  Christian  ladies — Mrs.  Judge  Evans, 
Mrs.  Pickering,  and  Mrs.  Nelson — to  convey  to 
Mr.  Dunn  the  good  wishes  of  our  Society,  with 
the  sincere  desire  that  he  would  agree  to  the  uni- 
form druggist  pledge,  and  thus  remove  one  of  the 
greatest  stumbling-blocks  out  of  the  way  of  our 
success  in  this  community. 

The  band,  after  singing  most  feelingly  the 
hymn  so  expressive  of  their  convictions  that 
morning, — 

"Must  Jesus  bear  the  cross  alone, 

And  all  the  world  go  free? 
No,  there's  a  cross  for  every  one, 
And  there's  a  cross  for  me," — 


84  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

took  up  with  renewed  courage  the  sacred  cross, 
and  proceeded  to  their  work  of  visitation. 

Passing  along  Main  Street,  west  of  High,  on 
that  cold,  snowy  January  morning,  a  sign,  hith- 
erto unobserved  by  the  band,  appeared  in  view. 
It  read,  "  The  Lava  Bed ;"  it  was  in  the  base- 
ment of  a  large  business  house ;  the  proprietor's 
name  was  Joseph  Lance.  It  only  required  a 
moment's  reflection,  and,  led  by  the  regular  offi- 
cers of  the  band,  they  descended  the  steep,  snowy, 
stone  steps  to  hold  a  prayer  and  song  service  on 
the  sawdust  floor  of  that  low-down  saloon  !  It 
was  literally  a  low-down  saloon,  but  the  women 
recognized  the  fact  that  Joe  Lance  had  a  soul  to 
be  saved  from  the  woe  of  making  his  neighbor 
drunken ;  so  they  felt  constrained  to  give  him 
their  prayers  and  songs,  their  Scripture  readings 
and  their  persuasion,  just  as  they  had  given  them 
to  those  nearer  the  light  of  heaven,  who  were  en- 
gaged in  the  same  business.  The  poor  fellow 
was  taken  by  surprise,  but  was  kind  and  respect- 
ful, and  after  the  ladies  left  had  "  strange 
thoughts,"  as  he  afterwards  confessed. 

Reports  were  now  coming  in  from  many  quar- 
ters of  the  wonderful  success  of  this  "woman's 
movement,"  as  it  was  called,  and  many  who  had 
been  faithless  were  now  saying :  "  It  must  be  of 
God !"  Messages  from  our  association  to  Wil- 
mington, New  Vienna,  Greenfield,  and  other 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES,  85 

places,  were  sent,  and  from  them  to  us  in  return, 
until  it  really  did  seem  that  a  chain  of  love  for 
God  and  humanity  was  about  to  bind  the  hearts 
of  Christians  together  for  royal  service  for  the 
Master !  And  although  after  twenty  years  we 
may  well  sing: 

"It  may  not  be  my  way, 

It  may  not  be  thy  way, 

And  yet,  in  his  own  way, 

The  Lord  will  provide  " — 
as, 

"  Bands  of  ribbon  white, 

Around  the  world !" 

do  witness. 


V. 

ONE  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  the 
"  Woman's  Temperance  Movement"  was 
the  rapidity  with  which  the  fire  of  enthusiasm 
spread;  and  another  was  the  spirit  of  zeal  and 
self-abnegation  that  seemed  to  take  possession 
of  the  best  and  most  useful  women  in  commu- 
nities touched  by  this  fire.  We  learn  from  re- 
corded history  that  "in  less  than  two  weeks 
from  the  time  it  was  inaugurated  at  Hillsboro 
three  or  four  counties  in  Southern  Ohio  were 
taken  by  storm !" 

A  reporter  of  the  Cincinnati  Commercial  says 
(January,  1874):  "The  excitement  pervading  the 


86  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

entire  community  over  the  '  Woman's  Temper- 
ance Movement'  exceeds  anything  we  have  wit- 
nessed in  Hillsboro  during  a  residence  of  twenty 
years.  And  yet,  on  the  part  of  the  women  en- 
gaged in  it — despite  old  prejudices  and  present 
discouragements — a  spirit  of  courageous  faith 
and  earnest  prayer,  added  to  a  most  forgiving 
disposition  towards  those  whose  business  they 
especially  antagonized,  seems  to  characterize 
the  movement  wherever  developed." 

On  the  morning  of  January  i2th,  our  early 
services  were  conducted  by  Dr.  McSurely  in  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  his  words  and  faithful 
Bible  readings  (always  good)  were  so  fitly  spoken 
that  they  were  indeed  "like  apples  of  gold  in 
pictures  of  silver."  Business  of  much  interest 
followed.  First,  General  McDowell  said  he  had 
been  requested  to  state  to  the  meeting  that  the 
hotel-keepers  wished  a  committee  of  gentlemen 
to  be  sent  to  confer  with  them  in  regard  to  "this 
movement,"  and  to  receive  their  proposals.  It 
.was  "moved  and  carried"  that  the  ladies  vote 
on  this  request,  and  the  request  was  granted. 

The  following  gentlemen — Mr.  F.  I.  Bum- 
garner,  Mr.  J.  M.  Boyd,  General  J.  J.  McDowell, 
Mr.  M.  T.  Nelson,  and  Mr.  Samuel  E.  Hibben— 
were  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  hotel-keepers 
as  a  committee  of  conference.  The  men  in 
charge  of  aiding  the  business  houses  who  wished 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  87 

to  reship  their  liquors  to  Cincinnati  reported  the 
readiness  of  two  firms  to  accept  terms  and  quit 
the  business.  The  ladies,  true  to  their  promise, 
signified  their  intention  of  meeting  at  an  ap- 
pointed time  for  the  purchase  of  candies,  glasses, 
beer-mugs,  etc.,  and  thus  aid  the  parties  to  start 
in  a  more  desirable  occupation. 

A  message  was  sent  in  by  one  or  two  of  the 
hotel-keepers,  through  Mr.  Samuel  E.  Hibben, 
requesting  that  the  following  ladies  be  added  to 
the  committee  of  gentlemen  appointed  to  confer 
with  them:  Mesdames  Colonel  Trimble,  William 
Scott,  Jessie  K.  Pickering,  Judge  Evans,  and  E.  J. 
Thompson.  The  society  indorsed  the  request. 
A  message  announcing  the  pleasant  news  that 
our  Washington  Court-house  friends  would  be 
with  us  that  evening  was  received  with  evidences 
of  delight. 

A  committee  was  also  appointed  to  invite 
town,  county,  and  United  States  officers  to  attend 
the  meetings  of  the  Woman's  Temperance  Asso- 
ciation. Meeting  adjourned  with  the  benedic- 
tion, and  the  ladies  formed  in  procession  and 
made  several  visits  to  saloons,  inviting  all  to 
come  out  and  hear  from  our  Washington  Court- 
house friends. 

The  mass-meeting  in  the  evening  was  large 
and  enthusiastic,  with  addresses  by  "Mr.  More- 
house,  the  superintendent  of  schools,  and  Mr. 


88  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

Dean,  teacher  of  high  school"  of  that  place. 
They  gave  accounts  of  the  work  there  to  the 
delight  of  all  interested,  although  many  of  us 
felt  heavy  about  the  heart  because  of  the 
"stones "'that  were  not  yet  "rolled  away"  in 
our  community. 

An  unusually  large  number  of  men  and 
women  assembled  in  the  Presbyterian  church 
at  an  early  hour  on  the  morning  of  the  i3th  of 
January,  1874.  The  regular  order  of  business 
was  set  aside  that  the  audience  might  hear  from 
the  visitors  from  Washington  Court-house — that 
fortunate  little  city  whose  "liquor -sellers"  all 
gave  up  to  the  prayers  and  entreaties  of  the 
good  women,  two  of  whom,  Mrs.  Carpenter  and 
Mrs.  Pruddy,  gave  us  some  words  of  encourage- 
ment. After  adjournment,  the  ladies  of  the  band 
went  out  for  "visitations,"  found  some  doors 
closed,  and  our  dealers  hard  and  unrelenting,  be- 
cause they  were  fortified  against  the  "Washing- 
ton Court-house  women,"  whom  they  expected 
with  us!  The  men's  prayer-meeting  continued 
in  session  at  the  church,  and  the  bell  was  rung 
at  the  end  of  every  prayer. 

About  this  time  there  was  much  feeling  with 
regard  to  Mr.  Dunn's  course  toward  the  ladies 
and  their  reasonable  wishes.  Without  consult- 
ing them,  our  highly-esteemed  friend,  Rev.  J. 
McD.  Mathews,  aided  by  the  man  whom  all 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  89 

society  delighted  to  honor,  Mr.  Samuel  E.  Hib- 
ben,  decided  to  secure  the  names  of  prominent 
business  and  professional  men  of  the  community 
to  a  personal  appeal,  and  present  it  to  Mr.  Dunn. 
Over  two  hundred  names  were  secured,  and  in 
the  most  kindly  manner  these  two  good  men 
presented  an  appeal,  and  received  from  his  at- 
torneys his  reply. 


YI. 

IT  must  "needs  be"  that  much  of  interest  is 
passed  over  in  silence  as  we  attempt  a  report 
of  Crusade  incidents.  So  varied  and  unique  were 
the  duties  and  thrilling  occurrences  of  each  day 
that  of  "making  many  books  there  would  be  no 
end,"  if  all  were  told. 

The  following  appeal,  signed  by  about  two 
hundred  male  citizens,  had  been  presented  to 
Mr.  Dunn,  the  druggist,  at  the  request  of  the 
temperance  people,  by  a  committee  consisting 
of  Rev.  J.  McD.  Mathews  and  Mr.  S.  E.  Hibben : 

APPEAL. 

MR.  W.  H.  H.  DUNN  : 

Dear  Sir, — We,  the  undersigned  citizens  and  bus- 
iness men  of  Hillsboro,  would  respectfully  and  kindly 
ask  you  to  sign  the  "  Women's  Temperance  Druggist's 
Pledge."  We  appeal  to  you  as  interested  with  us  in  the 
good  name  and  prosperity  of  our  town,  and  in  view  of 


90  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

the  fact  that  some  of  our  saloon-keepers  are  trying  to 
make  you  their  covering.  We  address  you  in  no  spirit 
of  coercion,  but  as  your  neighbors  and  friends,  who 
would  have  you  with  us  in  this  temperance  movement. 
Should  you  decide  to  adopt  the  course  here  sug- 
gested, you  will  entitle  yourself  to  our  gratitude,  as 
well  as  subserve,  in  our  judgment,  your  own  interests. 

The  subjoined  reply  was  received  at  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Dunn's  attorneys: 

MR.  DUNN'S  REPLY. 
To  HON.  SAMUEL  E.  HIBBEN  AND  REV.  J.  McD.  MATHEWS  : 

Gentlemen, — Mr.  W.  H.  H.  Dunn,  our  client,  to  whom 
you  presented  a  petition,  signed  by  certain  citizens  of 
Hillsboro,  requesting  him  to  sign  the  "  Women's  Tem- 
perance Druggist's  Pledge,"  bids  us  answer  thus : 

He  is  unable  to  see  any  difference  between  the  re- 
quest made  in  the  petition  referred  to  and  the  request 
originally  presented  by  the  ladies.  He  saw  fit  to  refuse 
such  request  then,  and  sees  no  reason  now  to  change 
his  mind. 

The  "  movement "  forced  him  into  the  courts,  and 
consequently  placed  him  in  direct  antagonism  with  the 
temperance  people  connected  with  such  "  movement." 

Until  such  a  request  as  the  one  referred  to  is  accom- 
panied by  proper  concessions  to  him  on  the  part  of 
such  temperance  people,  he  can  scarcely  honor  it  with 
respectful  or  serious  attention. 

We  beg  leave  to  subscribe  ourselves,  very  respectfully 
yours,  BEESON  &  SLOANE, 

COLLINS  &  PARKER. 

It  was  a  very  singular  pleasure  that  our  band 
enjoyed  on  the  morning  of  the  lyth  of  January, 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  QI 

1874,  to  pass  out  of  the  church  in  a  body,  after 
the  morning  services  were  concluded,  singing  (in 
our  hearts)  that  old  gospel  hymn, — 

"  Help  us  to  help  each  other,  Lord, 

Each  other's  cross  to  bear; 
Let  each  his  friendly  aid  afford, 
And  feel  his  brother's  care," — 

then  to  go  where  we  believed  a  man  was  honestly 
making  an  effort  to  get  out  of  a  business  so 
fraught  with  disastrous  results  to  all  concerned. 
When  we  arrived  at  the  "Bank  Saloon,"  we 
found  our  committee  of  temperance  men  finish- 
ing their  part  of  the  work  of  reshipments.  They 
kindly  proffered  their  aid,  and  the  auction  com- 
menced, which  resulted  in  each  woman  possess- 
ing a  trophy,  and  Mr.  Koch  a  full  purse  and  an 
empty  house,  ready  for  (as  we  had  hoped  and 
prayed)  a  successful  shoe-trade,  as  that  was  his 
original  business.  The  pledge  was  presented  to 
Mr.  Koch,  and  from  our  minutes  it  seems  he 
signed  it  with  the  added  clause,  "never  to  en- 
gage in  the  business  in  Hillsboro,  Highland 
County,  Ohio." 

The  women  of  the  Association  were  most 
pleasantly  surprised,  at  the  evening  meeting  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  to  find  themselves  pre- 
sented with  two  large  and  beautifully  illumi- 
nated text-cards  from  Captain  Amen,  one  to  be 


92  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

hung  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  the  other 
in  the  Methodist.     The  tekts  were, 

41  In  union  there  is  strength." 
"God's  work  pays  sure  wages." 

It  was  moved  (and  seconded  by  Dr.  Fullerton) 
and  carried,  that  Dr.  Fullerton  be  requested  to 
frame  these  mottoes  at  his  own  expense.  It 
was  no  sooner  said  than  done,  and  those  embel- 
lished cards,  with  their  inspiring  texts,  and  the 
kindly  thought  on  the  path  of  our  "weary  way," 
gave  the  band  much  good  cheer. 

One  morning  about  this  time,  as  our  ladies- 
were  engaged  in  a  song  and  prayer  service  in  one 
of  the  saloons,  a  message  was  received  from  our 
friend  of  the  "Lava  Bed,"  who  had  not  been  for- 
gotten or  neglected.  A  conference  was  soon  ar- 
ranged with  a  committee  of  ladies,  and  Mr.  Lance 
made  known  his  situation  and  his  wishes.  Plans 
were  immediately  formed  for  the  poor  fellow's 
relief  from  the  heavy  penalties  resting  upon  him, 
and  Joseph  found  himself  a  free  man,  selling 
fresh  fish  from  a  fine  business  stand,  giving 
strength,  not  "muddle,"  to  human  brains,  and 
peace  to  his  own  conscience. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  "fish,  fresh  fish," 
became  the  popular  dish  in  the  homes  of  the 
Crusaders  (as  they  were  beginning  to  be  called), 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  93 

and  our  new  "importer  "  for  a  time  did  a  flourish- 
ing business. 

Mr.  Wm.  Swartz,  of  the  Jefferson  House,  now 
demanded  attention.  He  was  only  a  temporary 
actor  in  the  saloon  connected  with  the  hotel,  the 
property  belonging  to  his  widowed  sister,  Mrs. 
Liber.  Mr.  Swartz  and  his  wife  had  tastes  dif- 
fering from  that  sort  of  life;  hence  it  was  not  a 
very  difficult  task  to  persuade  them  to  withdraw 
from  it.  Terms  were  agreed  upon,  and  after  the 
reshipment  of  liquors  to  Cincinnati,  and  the  auc- 
tion of  beer-mugs,  etc.,  Mr.  Swartz  found  himself 
behind  the  counter  of  a  flourishing  grocery,  and 
his  little  family  enjoying  the  peace  of  an  honest 
home  without  the  "trail  of  the  serpent." 

News  still  reaching  us  of  other  localities  com- 
ing under  the  influence  of  this  marvelous  "bap- 
tism of  the  Spirit,"  our  hearts  were  being  en- 
larged for  further  service,  and  communications 
of  cordial  sympathy  were  now  of  frequent  oc- 
currence. 

YII. 

THE  DRUGSTORE-DAY. 

OATURDAY  morning,  January  24,  1874,  was 
O  a  morning  long  to  be  remembered.  After 
devotional  services  of  more  than  usual  interest 
and  power,  the  women  of  the  band,  numbering 


94  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

about  eighty,  sallied  forth  from  the  dear  old 
church  that  witnessed  their  first  consecration, 
to  encounter  the  piercing  blasts  of  nature's  cold, 
but  more  to  feel  the  sting  of  malicious  persecu- 
tion, and  witness  the  frowns  of  former  friends, 
as  they  gathered  in  front  of  the  "  Palace  Drug- 
store" for  an  all-day  service  of  prayer  and  song. 

It  may  be  well  to  give  our  readers  an  idea  of 
this  day's  work  from  an  outsider's  impression  of 
it,  as  given  in  an  organ  of  the  Baptist  Church, 
the  Watchman  and  Reflector,  of  Boston.  The 
editor  prefaces  the  narrative  by  saying: 

"  If  any  think  this  is  a  work  to  be  sneered  at, 
let  them  read  the  following  report  of  the  efforts 
in  Hillsboro,  O.,  where  the  work  began  with  a 
lecture  by  Dr.  Lewis,  on  December  23,  1873. 
We  confess  we  did  not  read  it  with  dry  eyes: 

"Turning  the  corner  on  last  Saturday  afternoon,  I 
came  unexpectedly  upon  some  fifty  women  kneeling  on 
the  pavement  and  stone  steps  before  a  store.  ...  A 
daughter  of  a  former  governor  of  Ohio  was  leading  in 
prayer.  Surrounding  her  were  the  mothers,  wives,  and 
daughters  of  former  congressmen  and  legislators,  of  law- 
yers, physicians,  bankers,  ministers,  leading  men  of  all 
kinds.  .  .  .  There  were  gathered  here  representa- 
tives from  nearly  every  household  of  the  town.  The 
day  was  bitterly  cold ;  a  cutting  north  wind  swept  the 
streets,  piercing  us  all  to  the  bone.  The  plaintive,  tender, 
earnest  tones  of  that  wife  and  mother  who  was  pleading 
in  prayer,  arose  on  the  blast,  and  were  carried  to  every 
heart  within  reach.  Passers-by  uncovered  their  heads, 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  95 

for  the  place  whereon  they  trod  was  'holy  ground.' 
The  eyes  of  hardened  men  filled  with  tears,  and  many 
turned  awa}',  saying  that  they  could  not  bear  to  look 
upon  such  a  sight.  Then  the  voice  of  prayer  was 
hushed ;  the  women  arose  and  began  to  sing,  softly,  a 
sweet  hymn  with  some  old,  familiar  words  and  tune, 
such  as  our  mothers  sang  to  us  in  childhood  days.  We 
thought,  Can  mortal  man  resist  such  efforts?  Then 
they  knelt,  and  once  more  the  earnest  tones  of  prayer 
were  borne  upon  the  breeze.  So,  from  ten  o'clock  in 
the  morning  to  four  in  the  afternoon,  the  work  went  on, 
the  ladies  relieving  each  other  by  relays. 

"  Close  by  was  the  residence  of  Hon.  John  A.  Smith, 
our  former  congressman,  and  now  delegate  to  the  Con- 
gressional Convention.  His  noble,  warm-hearted  wife, 
one  of  the  band,  provided  a  bounteous  lunch,  to  which  the 
workers  resorted  for  rest  and  refreshment,  then  returned 
to  kneel  and  pray.  The  effect  upon  the  spectators  was 
indescribable.  No  sneer  was  heard,  scarcely  a  light 
word  was  spoken.  The  spirit  of  devotion  was  abroad; 
those  who  would  scorn  to  pray  .themselves,  yet  felt  that 
here  was  something  which  they  must,  at  least,  respect. 
Many  a  '  God  bless  them  !'  fell  from  lips  accustomed  to 
use  the  name  of  Deity  only  in  blasphemy.  There  was 
not  a  man  who  saw  them  kneeling  there,  but  felt  that  if 
he  was  entering  heaven's  gate,  and  one  of  these  women 
were  to  approach,  he  would  stand  aside  and  let  her  en- 
ter first. 

"The  end  is  not  yet;  the  hearts  of  these  women  daily 
grow  stouter,  their  faith  brighter,  and  their  prayers 
more  earnest.  A  thoroughly  Christian  spirit  pervades 
the  community,  and  the  feeling  is  one  of  yearning  love 
and  pity  for  those  who  stand  out  against  their  duty  to 
their  fellow-men." 


96  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

A  large  and  enthusiastic  "mass  temperance- 
meeting  "  was  held  in  Music  Hall  on  that  Satur- 
day evening,  addressed  by  Rev.  A.  C.  Hirst,  of 
Washington  Court-house.  Subscriptions  were 
then  received  to  the  Guarantee  Fund,  raising 
the  amount  to  $12,000.  The  total-abstinence 
pledge  was  circulated  (as  was  our  habit  at  all 
public  meetings),  and  many  signatures  obtained. 

As  the  women  retired  from  Music  Hall  that 
evening,  in  their  hearts  came  welling  up,  "One 
more  day's  work  for  Jesus ;"  then  the  blessed 
promise,  "  They  that  suffer  with  me  shall  reign 
with  me." 


VIII. 

AFTER  the  all-day  services  of  the  band  in 
front  of  the  Palace  Drugstore  on  that  mem- 
orable Saturday,  the  hospitable  and  refreshing 
luncheon  at  the  home  of  our  friends,  Hon.  and 
Mrs.  John  A.  Smith,  the  eloquent  address  of  Rev. 
A.  C.  Hirst  in  the  evening  at  Music  Hall,  and  a 
restful  Sunday  and  spiritual  upbuilding,  the 
Monday  morning  meeting,  January  26th,  opened 
with  new  interest,  and  messages  of  fresh  victo- 
ries were  received  from  many  points. 

Reports  also  came  of  the  cruel  and  unmanly 
treatment  the  New  Vienna  women  were  receiv- 
ing at  the  hands  of  Van  Pelt,  the  notorious  sa- 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  97 

loonist.  Words  of  earnest  sympathy  were  sent 
them  from  our  association,  and  our  hearts  were 
full  of  gratitude  that  we  were  spared  such  indig- 
nities ;  and  yet  the  stubborn  resistance  of  some 
with  whom  we  had  been  pleading  so  prayerfully, 
was,  we  thought,  harder  to  bear  than  a  shower1 
of  sour  beer  and  threats  of  violence!  But  God, 
who  alone  can  "  temper  the  winds  to  the  shorn 
larnb,"  knew  that  the  fathers,  husbands,  brothers 
of  Hillsboro  could  not  have  ruled  their  spirits  as 
did  the  quiet  representatives  of  William  Penn  at 
New  Vienna,  leaving  the  combat  with  "God  and 
the  women." 

Calls  from  the  towns  and  hamlets  of  our  own 
and  adjoining  counties  came  almost  daily  for 
help  in  their  work,  and  willing  hearts  were  al- 
ways ready  to  respond.  Indeed,  the  enthusiasm 
was  so  high  that  our  liverymen  caught  the  in- 
fection, many  times  furnishing  carriages,  horses, 
and  drivers  for  these  rural  missionary  excursions. 

About  this  time,  January  28th,  news  came  of 
Springfield,  Ohio,  falling  into  line.  Mother 
Stewart,  that  grand,  earnest  woman,  whom  the 
"  Boys  in  Blue,"  with  their  tears  of  gratitude, ' 
had  christened  "  mother,"  for  many  years  had 
toiled  for  "God  and  humanity"  in  the  temper- 
ance field,  gaining  cases  under  the  Adair  Law, 
and  pleading  for  poor,  oppressed  women  and 
children,  who,  because  of  the  curse  in  the  cup, 

7 


98  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

were  cold  and  starving, — she  now  laid  hold  of  the 
"  spiritual  lever"  presented  in  the  new  method, 
although  it  was  not  thought  a  work  adapted  to 
cities.  But  of  her  success  and  her  many  fields 
of  labor  on  this  and  on  the  other  side  of  the 
sea,  let  her  own  book,  "  Memories  of  the  Cru- 
sade," tell  more  at  length  than  a  local  sketch 
permits. 

The  early  prayer-meeting  on  the  morning  of 
the  26th  was  led  by  Rev.  S.  D.  Clayton.  Many 
interesting  incidents  of  the  work  in  Wilmington 
and  other  places  were  related  by  him,  who  was 
always  an  inspiration  to  us.  There  being  no 
other  business  of  importance  after  the  devotional 
hour,  the  ladies  in  private  session  determined  to 
spend  the  day  in  visitations  upon  the  few  re- 
maining places  that  were  selling  liquors  without 
restraint. 

While  the  band  was  engaged  in  the  usual  serv- 
ices in  front  of  the  unrelenting  druggist's,  a  man 
from  the  country,  a  farmer,  strolled  along  the 
street,  and  when  the  voice  of  song  arrested  his  at- 
tention, he  stopped,  and  leaned  against  the  wall  of 
a  building  adjoining  the  one  before  which  the  la- 
dies were  grouped.  When  the  song  so  familiar  to 
his  ears  (for  he  had  heard  it  in  his  boyhood  home) 
died  away,  and  the  women  kneeled,  he  removed 
his  hat,  folded  his  arms,  and  reverently  listened. 
When  they  arose  from  prayer7,  and  again  com- 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  99 

menced  a  low,  sweet  hymn,  he  rushed  across  the 
street,  and,  meeting  an  old  friend,  grasped  his 
hand,  saying:  "I  have  taken  my  last  drink!  I 
never  felt  before  what  a  wrong  the  cursed  habit 
was  to  poor  women." 

That  friend,  a  most  reliable  Christian  gentle- 
man, told  me  the  incident  several  years  since, 
and  added :  "  That  man  had  been  a  tippler  from 
his  youth,  and  for  years  past  rarely  came  to  town 
and  left  sober ;  but  since  that  day  he  has  been  a 
total  abstainer."  He  is  now  over  eighty,  a  kind, 
good  man.  His  wife  and  family  are  happy,  and 
he  never  fails  to  bless  the  "  Praying  Band."  Thus, 
while  this  "  whirlwind  of  the  Lord "  was  "  to 
the  Jews  a  stumbling-block,  and  to  the  Greeks 
foolishness,"  it  was  to  many  u  the  power  of  God 
and  the  wisdom  of  God." 

Many  such  incidents  could  be  related,  to  off- 
set the  ridicule  heaped  upon  the  self-sacrific- 
ing women  of  those  trying  days;  but  God  will 
"avenge  his  own  elect,  who  cry  unto  him  day 
and  night,  though  he  bear  long"  with  their  op- 
pressors ! 

On  Saturday  morning,  January  3ist,  after  the 
usual  devotional  services  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  the  members  of  the  Association,  having 
been  notified  not  to  have  singing  and  prayer  at 
the  door  or  on  the  steps  and  pavement  in  front 
of  Mr.  Dunn's  drugstore,  there  was  some  dis- 


100  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

cussion  as  to  the  best  course  of  action.  It  was 
finally  decided  that  the  ladies  should  go  out  as 
usual  visiting  other  places  first.  A  committee 
of  three  was  then  appointed  to  request  permis- 
sion from  the  mayor  to  have  a  tent  erected  in  the 
street  in  front  of  Mr.  Dunn's  store,  outside  the 
curbing.  This  committee  was  Mesdames  William 
Trimble,  John  A.  Smith,  William  Scott.  A  com- 
mittee of  gentlemen  was  then  appointed  to  erect 
the  said  tent.  The  committee  was  Messrs.  Jacob 
Sayler,  F.  Shepherd,  J.  S.  Black,  Allen  Cooper, 
Pangburn,  Roe,  Duffey. 

Permission  having  been  obtained,  the  com- 
mittee proceeded  to  erect  the  tabernacle ;  and 
later  in  the  day,  the  band,  having  completed 
other  work,  took  possession,  and  remained  during 
the  afternoon,  for  devotional  services.  Mrs.  D. 
K.  Fenner,  our  secretary  (and  she  was  a  dignified 
Episcopalian),  records  in  her  minutes:  "Few 
that  were  present  will  ever  forget  that  scene,  or 
the  feelings  of  holy  courage  and  faith  that  ani- 
mated each  heart." 

Mr.  Dunn  now  determined  to  call  the  law  to 
his  aid,  securing  the  services  of  the  lawyer  who 
had  antagonized  the  Washington  Court-house  la- 
dies in  the  "  Charlie  Beck  "  case.  Judge  Safford, 
whose  term  on  the  bench  had  nearly  expired,  and 
whose  sympathies  were  far  from  being  with  the 
temperance  women  (or  men),  was  appealed  to  by 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  IOI 

William  H.  H.  Dunn  and  his  lawyer  for  a  tem- 
porary injunction.  It  was  granted,  and  the  notice 
served  upon  the  chairman  of  the  Tabernacle 
Committee,  Mr.  Sayler.  In  the  dead  hour  of  the 
night  the  structure  was  taken  down  by  our  law- 
abiding  brethren  of  the  committee,  and  when 
Sunday  dawned  not  a  trace  of  the  tent  remained. 

But  what  did  the  God  of  Jacob  say  to  the 
women  who  were  trusting  in  him  ?  Even  as  he 
had,  through  the  Spirit's  guidance,  shown  in  the 
one  hundred  and  forty-sixth  Psalm  to  them  in 
the  beginning  of  their  mission,  so  now,  words  of 
reassurance  came  to  the  heart  of  their  leader 
through  the  first  chapter  of  Nahum,  beginning 
with  the  seventh  verse:  "The  Lord  is  good,  a 
stronghold  in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  he  knoweth 
them  that  trust  in  him.  But  with  an  overrun- 
ning flood  he  will  make  an  utter  end  of  the  place 
thereof,  and  darkness  shall  pursue  his  enemies." 
The  entire  chapter  was  applied  with  great  com- 
fort and  strong  faith,  even  to  the  last  verse: 
''Keep  thy  solemn  feasts,  perform  thy  vows." 

On  the  Monday  morning  following,  February 
2d,  by  previous  appointment,  the  Association  met 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  devotional  serv- 
ices. A  mass-meeting  for  the  following  Saturday 
was  determined  upon,  invitations  to  be  sent  to 
our  friends  throughout  the  county,  and  a  special 
one,  with  our  heartfelt  congratulations,  to  the 


102  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

faithful  sisters  of  New  Vienna,  and  Rev.  D.  Hill, 
of  the  Friends'  Church,  was  invited  to  speak  at 
the  hall  in  the  afternoon,  with  a  request  that 
he  should  bring  Van  Pelt  with  him,  if  it  was 
really  true  (as  we  had  heard)  that  he  had  not 
only  given  up  the  "evil  of  his  doings,"  but  had 
taken  upon  himself  allegiance  to  the  cause  of 
temperance  and  humanity.  But  so  grievous  had 
been  his  persecutions  of  the  temperance  women 
that,  as  with  the  disciples  of  old,  Saul  "  was 
feared,"  until  he  proved  that  "  the  scales  had 
fallen  from  his  eyes." 


IX. 

THE  ladies  of  the  Temperance  Association  of 
Hillsboro  had  very  little  to  do  with  the 
legal  proceedings  connected  with  the  injunction 
granted  by  Judge  Safford  against  the  Association, 
"  restraining  them  from  praying  and  singing 
around,  before,  or  anywhere  in  the  vicinity  of 
Mr.  William  H.  H.  Dunn's  drugstore."  'Tis 
true  quite  a  number  of  matrons  (about  thirty) 
assembled  at  the  residence  of  the  secretary,  Mrs. 
Dean  K.  Fenner,  by  request  of  their  lawyers, 
Messrs.  Harrion,  Williams,  and  Thompson,  for 
conversation  upon  the  subject  in  litigation.  Mr. 
Thompson  a  day  or  two  later  met  the  members 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  103 

of  the  Association  in  the  lecture-room  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  read  to  them 
the  affidavit,  which  they  signed  and  swore  to  in 
the  presence  of  'Squire  Doggett. 

When  the  day  arrived  for  the  hearing  of  the 
case  the  "lady  defendants,"  to  the  number  of 
about  one  hundred — our  band  had  increased 
during  these  days  of  persecution — formed  in  pro- 
cession, after  an  early  prayer-meeting  at  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  marched  down 
High  Street  to  the  court-house.  We  were  re- 
ceived courteously  and  seated,  although  the  court- 
room was  densely  packed.  The  greatest  interest 
was  manifested  in  the  extraordinary  proceedings, 
and  temperance  sentiment  was  created,  even 
more  rapidly  by  our  court-house  experiences 
than  by  our  saloon  visitations;  so  the  world 
said. 

The  case  was  argued  for  four  days,  with  great 
skill  and  much  feeling  on  both  sides,  during  which 
the  most  intense  interest  was  shown  by  the  people 
from  the  rural  districts  as  well  as  by  our  own  citi- 
zens. Finally,  the  case  was  concluded,  and  Judge 
Steel  gave  his  decision.  "The  temporary  injunc- 
tion was  dissolved,  but  only  on  a  technicality, 
and  not  on  the  merits  of  the  case."  Both  par- 
ties were  disappointed,  and  throughout  the  State 
there  was  much  feeling  evinced  on  the  part  of 
temperance  advocates  because  of  the  fact  that 


104  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

this  decision  gave  to  many  localities  an  assurance 
of  the  law  on  the  liquor  side,  so  that  efforts  were 
made  in  many  towns  in  Ohio,  where  the  move- 
ment was  in  progress,  to  put  a  check  upon  it  in 
the  same  way.  But,  thank  the  good  Father  of 
all  our  mercies,  the  courts  were  generally  in 
sympathy  with  the  ladies.  Judge  after  judge  was 
appealed  to  in  vain.  In  Morrow  serious  hin- 
drance was  suffered  on  the  part  of  the  temper- 
ance people  because  of  the  restraining  orders  of 
courts;  but  through  the  decision  of  Judge  Smith, 
of  Lebanon,  all  honor  to  his  name,  the  women 
triumphed  in  the  only  injunction  case  of  the 
Crusade  that  was  decided  on  its  merits.  With- 
out entering  into  the  arguments  upon  which  his 
decision  was  based,  let  it  be  remembered  that 
the  pivot  upon  which  all  arguments  turned  with 
that  good,  wise,  common-sense  judge  was  that 
"  the  plaintiff  had  no  right  to  ask  legal  protec- 
tion for  a  manifestly  illegal  business." 

Soon  after  the  new  experiences  of  the  legal 
proceedings  were  over  (as  we  supposed),  it  was 
thought  best  by  the  women  of  the  Association  to 
make  some  changes  in  the  usual  order  of  things. 
After  some  discussion  as  to  time  and  place  of 
holding  the  future  meetings  of  the  Association, 
it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  this  whole  sub- 
ject should  be  referred  to  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  ladies  and  the  ministers  of  the  several 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  105 

Churches ;  hence  a  called  meeting  for  the  pur- 
pose was  appointed. 

During  the  next  week  this  meeting  was  held, 
and  the  following  plans  agreed  upon:  First,  the 
morning  meetings  were  dispensed  with  for  one 
week,  as  an  experiment,  the  afternoon  meetings 
and  the  visitations  substituting  them.  Evening 
union  temperance  services  in  the  Presbyterian 
church  on  Monday,  in  the  Baptist  church  on 
Tuesday,  and  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
on  Thursday  evening  of  each  week  were  decided 
upon.  All-day  prayer-meetings  were  held  in  the 
churches  occasionally.  These  services  proved  to 
be  of  great  interest  and  profit  to  the  many  who 
attended  them.  Testimonies  full  of  vital  im- 
portance were  given  by  not  only  workers  at 
these  meetings,  but  by  many  men  as  well  as 
women,  who  had  been  spiritually  benefited  by 
this  "  Temperance  Pentecost." 

A  very  great  effort  was  made  by  a  committee, 
appointed  for  the  purpose,  to  secure  good  and 
reliable  speakers  for  our  evening  meetings. 
Several  invitations  were  sent  abroad  to  earnest 
workers  in  the  State,  such  as  Mrs.  Wells,  Dr. 
Staunton,  and  others;  but  so  great  was  the  de- 
mand upon  them  that  we  were  disappointed. 
Then  we  turned  to  some  among  ourselves,  whose 
constant  occupation  in  the  field  of  labor  assigned 
them  by  Providence  had  prevented  their  joining 


106  H1LLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

in  the  daily  round  of  Crusade  services  for  which 
they  felt  the  most  earnest  sympathy:  pre-emi- 
nently among  these  was  Miss  Emily  Grand 
Gerard,  a  native  French  lady,  but  one  who  had 
been  educated  by  our  own  Dr.  Mathews  and  was 
in  full  and  hearty  accord  with  "every  good  word 
and  work."  She  was  principal  of  the  Presby- 
terian Institute  for  Young  Ladies,  and  her  friends 
were  legion  in  all  Churches  and  circles,  yet  her 
modesty  was  only  equaled  by  her  ability.  She 
accepted  an  invitation  to  address  an  evening 
union  temperance  service  in  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  chose  as  her  subject  "The  Cru- 
sader." After  delineating  the  Crusaders  of 
olden  times  in  a  most  attractive  manner,  she 
brought  to  bear  the  glorious  privilege  of  the 
modern  Crusader  in  such  bold  relief  that  all  felt 
the  power  of  her  words,  and  gave  hearty  assent 
as  she  exclaimed :  "  Nor  do  they  throw  them- 
selves in  the  breach  unguarded  and  unarmed. 
No  valiant  Crusader  ever  went  forth  to  battle 
clad  in  such  a  panoply  as  they  wear.  Our  mod- 
ern Crusader — for  we  accept  the  name  given  in 
derision,  and  will  make  it  as  significant  of  good 
as  other  titles  bestowed  in  the  same  spirit,  Meth- 
odist, Huguenot,  etc. — is  furnished  with  weapons 
from  the  armory  of  heaven  (Ephesians  vi,  10,  n); 
and  with  such  equipments  who  would  dare  be 
discouraged !" 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  107 

The  entire  address  of  this  gifted  Christian 
lady  was  a  benediction  to  the  faithful  band  of 
workers,  and  from  that  evening  they  assumed 
the  appellation  of  "  Crusaders,"  counting  it  a 
high  privilege  to  suffer  persecution  in  a  cause 
so  glorious. 

"  Remember  Lot's  wife  "  is  also  one  of  Hills- 
boro's  mottoes,  and  the  weekly  meeting  all  the 
way  along  since  1873,  held  by  the  temperance 
women,  proves  that  the  live  coal,  of  the  Crusade 
is  still  burning  upon  the  altar. 

About  the  aoth  of  March,  1874,  the  members 
of  our  Association,  realizing  the  near  approach 
of  house-cleaning  and  other  busy  days  for  house- 
keepers, determined  to  call  a  meeting  of  the 
Executive  Committee  for  consultation,  and  on 
April  23d  the  following  ladies  met  in  the  home 
of  Mrs.  John  A.  Smith:  Mrs.  McDowell,  Mrs. 
Scott,  Mrs.  J.  A.  Smith,  Mrs.  Glascock,  Mrs. 
R.  S.  Evans,  Mrs.  Cowden,  Mrs.  Foraker,  Mrs. 
D.  K.  Fenner,  and  Mrs.  Thompson.  The  con- 
sultation resulted  in  returning  to  the  morning 
meetings  and  other  work.  The  entire  number 
of  members  who  were  in  the  spirit  of  "willing 
workers,"  were  to  be  divided  into  four  equal 
parts,  to  be  known  as  bands  A,  B,  C,  and  D, 
each  band  to  have  a  leader  and  assistant  leader, 
to  be  elected  monthly.  These  leaders  and  assist- 
ants were  also  to  be  members  of  the  Executive 


108  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

Committee.  Thus,  while  some  were  at  work  in 
their  respective  homes,  the  visitations  upon  the 
few  remaining  open  saloons  and  bars  were  pray- 
erfully looked  after.  Grand  evening  meetings 
were  held  in  the  different  churches,  and  the  in- 
terest seemed  unabated. 


X. 

WHEN  the  7th  of  February— the  day,  by 
previous  appointment,  for  the  "all-day 
mass-meeting  " — came  around,  a  heavy  snow  cov- 
ered the  ground,  and  still  descended  in  noiseless 
flakes  of  purity  and  beauty.  About  nine  o'clock 
A.  M.  the  friends  from  various  parts  of  the 
county  could  be  seen,  all  covered  white  as  the 
cause  they  represented,  making  their  way  to  the 
old  Presbyterian  Church,  where  our  Committee 
of  Reception,  and  also  a  committee  of  the  men 
on  horses,  met  them;  the  former  conducted  the 
visitors  into  the  morning  meeting,  and  the  latter 
the  horses  and  sleighs  to  the  comfortable  quar- 
ters provided.  A  little  later  the  New  Vienna 
delegation  came  in  a  huge  sled,  all  seated,  robed, 
and  drawn  by  horses,  such  as  only  the  humane 
Friends  indulge  in. 

When  those  dear,  brave,  good  women,  with 
their  Friendly  bonnets  and  modest  mien,  came 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  109 

walking  into  that  consecrated  church  with  their 
minister,  Rev.  D.  Hill,  and  their  conquered  foe, 
Van  Pelt,  the  whole  audience  with  one  accord 
arose  and  joined  heartily  in  singing,  "Praise 
God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow!"  A  most 
inspiring  service  followed,  of  song,  prayer,  and 
testimony,  until  the  hour  for  luncli — hot  coffee, 
and  plenty  of  everything  good — thanks  to  the 
efficient  committee  of  ladies,  whose  names  I  find 
recorded  in  the  minutes  as  follows :  Mesdames 
M.  T.  Nelson,  Judge  Evans,  J.  M.  Boyd,  John 
Jolly,  Judge  Mathews,  James  Patterson,  Thomas 
Miller,  Miss  Maria  Stewart,  Miss  Lizzie  Kerby, 
Miss  Rachel  Counard. 

At  half-past  one  o'clock  the  procession  formed 
and  marched  to  Music  Hall,  the  women  two  and 
two,  the  men  following.  The  order  of  the  pro- 
cession was  for  the  Hillsboro  workers,  each  one 
to  choose,  as  far  as  possible,  a  visitor  as  march- 
ing companion.  The  entire  picture  was  impos- 
ing, and  awed  the  most  rebellious  and  critical 
into  silence  that  was  almost  oppressive,  as  we 
marched  quietly  through  a  phalanx  of  wonder- 
ing eyes. 

The  meeting  at  the  hall  was  a  rare  one. 
Fine  music  from  the  soul,  an  earnest,  sensible 
address  by  Rev.  D.  Hill,  followed  by  the  famous 
ex-saloon  keeper,  Van  Pelt,  who,  in  a  humble, 
feeling  manner,  to  all  human  appearances,  gave 


110  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

reason  for  faith  in  his  changed  condition.  His 
contrition  seemed  heartfelt,  and  his  alleged  al- 
legiance to  the  cause  he  had  so  grossly  perse- 
cuted, hearty  and  real.  After  his  talk,  there  was 
much  feeling,  and  some  one  started  that  blessed 

hymn, 

"Jesus  paid  it  all, 

All  the  debt  I  owe." 

Then  General  McDowell,  our  right-hand 
champion  on  all  occasions  of  a  public  nature, 
spoke  most  effectively,  and  was  followed  by  Dr. 
P.  H.  Wever,  whose  mind  seemed  to  take  in  the 
far-reaching  results  of  Van  Pelt's  surrender,  and 
in  facts  and  figures  demonstrated  it  in  a  clear 
and  impressive  manner.  The  audience  was  then 
dismissed,  and,  after  hand-shakings  and  benedic- 
tion, all  returned  to  their  homes,  strong  in  the 
faith  of  final  victory. 

In  view  of  the  injunction  of  Mr.  Dunn,  it 
was  decided  by  our  Association  that  we  would 
go  on  with  our  temperance  work  in  the  churches, 
halls,  and  visitations,  in  our  charity  work,  chil- 
dren's meetings,  distribution  of  temperance  liter- 
ature, canvassing  for  signatures  to  the  total  ab- 
stinence pledge,  etc.,  just  as  we  had  been  doing, 
save  that  Mr.  Dunn  should  be  left  undisturbed 
with  his  lawyers  until  after  court.  In  the  mean- 
time our  "counsel"  had  been  secured,  and  we 
felt  at  ease,  having  "done  what  we  could,"  and 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  1 1 1 

resting  upon  the  assurance  "if  God  be  for  us, 
who  can  be  against  us?"  No  malice  or  ill-will 
was  indulged  in  on  the  part  of  temperance 
women,  as  the  following  resolutions,  adopted  at 
an  evening  meeting,  February  aoth,  testify : 

"  WHEREAS,  We,  the  women  of  the  Hillsboro  Tem- 
perance Association,  are  greatly  encouraged  in  our 
work,  God  having  graciously  manifested  that  he  is  still 
leading  us  on, — 

"  Resolved,  That,  while  as  a  body  we  continue  our 
work  with  renewed  vigor,  strong  in  faith,  the  principle 
of  love  and  charity  shall  ever  govern  us. 

'•'•Resolved,  That  while  our  hearts  overflow  with  grati- 
tude to  God  that  we  may  be  instruments  in  his  hands, 
we,  as  an  Association  utterly  discard  any  expressions 
of  triumph  and  exultation,  and  will  at  any  time  stead- 
fastly rebuke  any  spirit  of  ridicule  or  unkindness  which 
may  be  manifested  at  any  of  our  meetings." 

These  resolutions  were  offered  by  Mrs.  W. 
Doggett,  one  of  our  lovely  spirits  now  in  heaven, 
and  were  heartily  indorsed  by  the  entire  Society. 
Mrs.  Thompson,  as  recorded  in  the  minutes, 
then  offered  the  following  resolution,  which,  after 
the  lapse  of  nearly  twenty  years,  she  reindorses: 

"Resolved,  That  we  ladies  here  present  express  our 
thanks  for  the  wise  and  prudent  counsels  of  the  gentle- 
men, and  their  generous  conduct  towards  us  in  our  tem- 
perance work." 

Persistent,  earnest  effort  had  been  going  on  in 
the  way  of  visitations,  prayer,  song,  and  persua- 


112  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

sions,  in  connection  with  the  three  remaining 
saloons — Ward,  Bales,  and  Uhrig.  To  all  human 
appearances  these  men  seemed  "joined  to  their 
idols,"  and  yet  we  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  "let 
them  alone."  So  one  icy  morning  a  service  was 
held  on  the'pavement  in  front  of  the  Uhrig  saloon. 
Some  of  the  good,  thoughtful  ladies  of  the  neigh- 
borhood sent  door-rugs  for  the  comfort  of  the 
women  in  kneeling,  and  Mrs.  Foraker,  mother 
of  Ex-Governor  Foraker,  who  was  called  upon 
to  lead  in  the  first  prayer  that  morning,  took  one 
of  these  little  rugs,  and,  placing  it  upon  the  top 
step,  kneeled  upon  it,  and  with  her  mouth  at  the 
key-hole,  proceeded  to  offer  one  of  her  apostolic 
prayers.  When  she  finished  that  prayer,  and 
descended  the  steps  to  join  her  sisters  in  song 
on  the  pavement,  some  one  asked  her,  in  an 
undertone,  why  she  did  it,  and  added:  "It 
looked  so  queer." 

Her  answer  was :  "  When  a  man  locks  his 
door  on  good  women's  prayers,  he  is  apt  to  be 
listening  inside  to  hear  what  they  have  to  say 
about  it."  And  sure  enough  that  prayer  was 
heard.  The  young  man  inside  was  not  destitute 
of  that  tenderness  of  conscience  begotten  by 
early  religious  teachings.  He  had  two  uncles, 
ministers  in  Fatherland,  but  love  of  money  "made 
easy,"  and  the  "national  toleration"  for  what 
God  has  pronounced  "accursed,"  caused  him  to 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  113 

see  no  harm  in  it;  so  he  sold.  But  he  was  miser- 
able because  of  the  women's  prayers,  songs,  and 
entreaties,  and  he  decided  to  close  his  establish- 
ment, and  seek  a  better  way. 

There  wa^  a  feeling  of  real  interest  in  dispos- 
ing of  the  liquors  of  his  saloon,  so  that  no  one 
should  be  harmed  by  them  ;  therefore  we  entered 
into  a  business  contract,  each  choosing  a  "  days- 
man "  to  settle  prices,  and  so  on.  The  ladies  of 
the  committee  determined  that  the  liquor  owned 
by  Mr.  Uhrig  should  be  bought  and  burned,  as 
none  of  our  Society  wished  to  injure  the  young 
man's  worldly  prospects;  his  store  also  under- 
went a  process  of  invoicing,  and  upon  a  fixed 
day  the  ladies  met,  and  purchased  all  there  was 
for  sale.  As  I  was  a  little  late,  I  found  no  choice 
in  the  trophies;  but  spying  a  handsome  Cognac 
bottle,  I  found  that  it  belonged  to  the  partner's 
wife.  In  his  boyhood  days  he  had  been  our  little 
neighbor,  so  I  said:  "Henry,  won't  you  ask  her 
to  sell  it  to  me?"  He  returned  from  her  room 
quickly  with  her  consent,  and  the  price  affixed; 
to-day  that  Cognac  bottle,  so  delicately  painted, 
has  a  place  of  honor,  as  a  relic  of  the  "  Hillsboro 
Crusade,"  in  the  castle  of  Lady  Henry  Somerset, 
in  England. 

8 


1 14  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 


XL 

THE  Highland  News,  one  of  the  leading  jour- 
nals of  our  town,  edited  by  Mr.  J.  L,.  Board- 
man,   a  champion  for  temperance   and  a  loyal 
friend  of  the  woman's  movement,  on  March  10, 
-1873,  had  the  following: 


"The  record  of  the  day  is  not  complete  without  some 
mention  of  the  outdoor  mass-meeting,  held  on  the  pub- 
lic square  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

"Mr.  Uhrig  having  yielded  to  the  entreaties  of  the 
ladies,  closed  his  saloon,  and  surrendered  his  liquors. 
It  was  determined  that  the  whisky  should  be  burned. 
A  large  concourse  of  people  assembled  to  witness  the 
ceremony. 

"The  ladies  of  the  Association  came  in  procession 
from  the  church,  and  formed  a  circle  around  the  three 
barrels,  being  marshaled  by  Mr.  Jacob  Sayler,  who,  at 
their  request,  had  charge  of  the  proceedings. 

"After  a  prayer  by  Rev.  S.  D.  Clayton,  the  heads  of 
the  barrels  were  broken  in,  and  the  liquor  set  on  fire. 
The  scene  was  one  of  solemn  joy,  never  to  be  forgotten 
by  those  who  participated  in  it. 

"As  the  words  of  prayer  were  borne  heavenward  on 
the  wings  of  the  evening  air,  tears  of  thankfulness 
flowed  from  many  eyes,  and  in  the  hush  which  followed 
the  fervent  'Amen,'  voices,  all  tremulous  with  emotion, 
joined  in  the  grand  old  '  John  Brown  '  chorus. 

"Even  the  boys  forgot  their  usual  shout  and  whistle, 
and  the  dear  familiar  hymns,  that  have  cheered  and 


UILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  1 1 5 

helped  us  all  along  the  weary  way,  seemed  the  fittest 
expression  of  our  joy.  When  all  was  over,  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  of  the  Association  returned  to  the  church 
to  unite  in  a  song  and  prayer  of  solemn  thanksgiving 
to  God,  being  more  than  ever  convinced  that  he  who 
began  the  work  has  continued  it,  and  will  in  his  own 
good  time  and  way  complete  it. 

"  MRS.  DEAN  K.  FENNER,  Secretary." 

About  the  beginning  of  April,  1874,  the  morn- 
ing meetings  were  resumed,  and,  by  special  in- 
vitation from  the  "  powers  that  be,"  they  were 
held  alternate  weeks  in  the  Presbyterian  and 
Methodist  Churches.  It  must  not  be  forgotten 
that,  in  addition  to  the  injunction  case,  which 
had  been  tried  at  the  February  term  of  court, 
Mr.  Dunn  had  also  brought  suit  against  the  Cru- 
saders for  alleged  trespass,  and  asked  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  damages.  This  suit  was  not  to 
come  on  for  some  months,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  parties  were  not  ready  for  trial.  Meantime, 
the  women  decided  not  to  "trespass"  upon  the 
Palace  Drugstore,  as  there  was  plenty  to  do  in 
other  directions,  and  they  had  no  desire,  even  in 
appearance,  to  defy  the  law.  But  from  an  article 
taken  from  the  Highland  Nervs  about  that  time, 
it  would  seem  that  our  temperance  gentlemen 
were  not  so  minded ;  for  they  were  busy  in  the 
line  of  legal  suasion.  In  order  to  give  the  situa- 


Il6  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

tion,  as  its  was  regarded  in  this  region  in  1874, 
this  clipping  will  be  useful 

"MR.  DUNN  IN  TROUBLE  AGAIN — HE  IS  BOUND  OVER  ON 
EIGHT  ADDITIONAL  CHARGES  OF  ILLEGAL  LIQUOR- 
SELLING. 

"  Since  our  last  issue,  the  temperance  men  have  been 
making  things  rather  uncomfortable  for  Mr.  Dunn,  of 
injunction  notoriety,  and  have  pretty  effectually  stripped 
him  of  the  borrowed  plumage  he  has  hitherto  been  al- 
lowed to  wear  as  a  seller  of  liquor  only  in  strict  accord- 
ance with  the  law.  He  has  been  arrested,  and  bound 
over  to  court  on  eight  distinct  charges  of  illegal  selling. 

"  All  these  cases  but  two  are  for  selling  liquor  to  be 
drank  on  the  premises,  and  the  proof  against  him  is  clear 
in  every  case.  The  other  two  cases  are  for  selling  liquor 
to  minors,  and  in  these  also  the  evidence  is  strong  and 
direct. 

"This  is  all  there  is  in  the  cry  of  'Persecution!  which 
is  being  raised  by  his  friends  and  sympathizers." 

The  only  remaining  saloons  were  the  two  we 
first  visited,  kept  by  John  Bales  and  Robert 
Ward,  and  they  were  still  visited  with  songs, 
prayers,  and  earnest  entreaties,  until  it  really 
seemed  a  question  as  to  how  long  they  could  re- 
sist, and  how  long  the  Crusaders  could  patiently 
endure. 

These  men  were  very  different  in  their  tem- 
peraments. Bales  had  one  song,  which  he  never 
failed  to  sing:  "Just  as  soon  as  the  druggists  all 
sign  the  pledge,  and  quit  selling" contrary  to  law, 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  llj 

then  I  will  quit,  and  join  in  with  the  temperance 
people,  heart  and  soul." 

Poor  Ward  always  agreed  that  liquor-selling 
was  a  "bad  business,"  and  protested  that  when- 
ever he  could  sell  his  house,  he  would  "quit  the 
business  entirely."  But  when  one  of  our  wealthy 
citizens  (to  gratify  his  noble  Crusade  wife)  offered 
him  his  price  for  the  property,  cash  down,  with 
a  view,  we  have  always  believed,  of  handing  it 
over  to  her  for  Crusade  headquarters,  the  in- 
fatuated Ephraim  proved  his  devotion  to  his  idol 
by  asking  five  hundred  dollars  more  for  his  house. 
Thus  the  sale  was  lost. 

Quite  a  new  line  of  activity  opened  up  about 
this  time  for  temperance  workers.  The  Consti- 
tutional Convention  had  at  last  finished  its  labors, 
and  Ohio  was  required  to  consider  the  new  con- 
stitution. In  consequence  of  the  great  pressure 
brought  upon  the  members  of  this  Convention 
by  the  temperance  movement,  they  saw  plainly 
that,  in  order  to  meet  the  question  fairly,  they 
would  have  to  submit  to  the  people  a  choice  as 
to  which  of  two  clauses  should  be  inserted  in  the 
constitution — one  favoring  the  system  of  license 
to  sell  intoxicating  liquors,  the  other  opposed  to 
license.  'Tis  true  the  women  had  no  vote  on 
the  subject,  but  they  would  be  the  greatest  suf- 
ferers should  the  State  license  this  terrible  traffic. 
So  when  meetings  were  appointed  throughout 


Il8  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

the  ccmnty  in  school-houses  and  churches,  the 
Crusaders  accepted  the  many  calls  that  were 
made  upon  them,  and  in  little  groups  of  three, 
four,  or  six,  sought  quietly  the  rural  gatherings, 
where,  from  full  hearts  (and  many  times  bitter 
experiences),  they  reasoned  with  their  neighbors 
of  "  righteousness,  temperance,  and  judgment  to 
come,"  and,  from  the  kindly  letters  received  and 
published,  one  might  well  suppose  the  novel 
work  of  the  women  during  those  days  of  toil 
and  danger,  was  not  in  vain.  As  a  tribute  to 
the  author  of  the  following  letter,  we  feel  that  it 
should  be  published  in  our  "  Crusade  Sketches." 
In  his  little  town,  Belfast,  Highland  County, 
Mr.  Isaac  Hottinger,  a  sensible  farmer,  had  stood 
like  a  granite  statue  against  taunts,  ridicule,  and 
sarcasm,  voting  the  only  Prohibition  ticket  for 
so  many  years,  that  he  naturally  hailed  the  new 
movement  with  enthusiasm: 

BELFAST,  March  21,  1874. 

EDITOR  NEWS, — To-day,  after  religious  service  was 
ended  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Isaac  Hottin- 
ger moved  that  we  extend  our  hearty  congratulations 
and  sympathies  to  the  noble  women  of  Hillsboro  for  their 
zealous  labors  to  supress  intemperance.  Rev.  Mr.  Am- 
brose called  for  a  vote  of  the  House,  and  I  believe  it  was 
carried  unanimously,  and  Isaac  Hottinger  was  appointed 
a  committee  to  report  the  same  to  the  women  of  Hills- 
boro, through  the  columns  of  the  News. 

So  far  as  I  have  heard  our  people  express  their  minds, 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  119 

they  are  on  the  side  of  the  women  in  this  temperance 
movement.  It  is  the  foundation  principle  of  this  Gov- 
ernment that  a  majority  shall  rule.  Now,  if  we  were 
to  ask  every  voter  in  our  nation,  "Are  you  in  favor  of 
the  sale  and  use  of  liquor  for  a  beverage  ?"  two-thirds 
would  say,  No.  Then,  why  are  things  in  such  a  de- 
plorable condition  ?  The  answer  is  obvious.  We  are 
too  busy  trying  to  make  money,  and  more  anxious  for 
political  party  victories,  than  we  are  for  the  cause  of 
temperance. 

There  is  one  thing  certain  to  my  mind :  If  the 
women  had  a  vote,  they  would  "  right-about-face  '  the 
liquor-business  in  short  meter. 

God  grant  that  the  temperance-ball  that  was  started 
in  Hillsboro  may  roll  on,  until  it  shall  break  down  the 
reign  of  King  Alcohol,  and  bind  him  in  chains  so  strong 
that  he  will  never  again  be  set  free  to  ravage  and  de- 
stroy our  homes !  Yours,  for  temperance, 

ISAAC  HOTTINGER. 


XII. 

AN  evening  service  of  much  interest  was  held 
in  the  Methodist  church  about  the  aoth  of 
April.  The  Rev.  S.  D.  Clayton  was  called  upon 
for  a  speech.  He  responded  in  an  earnest,  rous- 
ing address,  taking  for  a  text  the  reply  of  a 
saloon-keeper  in  a  town  near  by,  when  a  broken- 
hearted mother  besought  him  to  sell  no  more 
liquor  to  her  only  son.  Said  he :  "Madam,  your 


120  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

son  has  as  good  a  right  to  fill  a  drunkard's  grave 
as  any  other  mother's  son,  and  I  will  sell  to  him 
as  long  as  he  has  money  to  pay  for  it."  I  only 
wish  a  reporter  had  been  on  hand,  that  the  words 
of  power  and  pathos  on  that  occasion  could  have 
been  preserved;  but  they  were  not  lost. 

From  the  News  of  May  13,  1874,  we  C^P  tne 
following  notice : 

"Last  Saturday,  while  the  ladies  of  the  Temperance 
League  were  holding  their  usual  religious  exercises  in 
front  of  Bales's  saloon,  he  got  angry,  and  seizing  Mrs. 
Pickering  and  Mrs.  Shinn  by  the  shoulder,  pushed  them 
roughly  off  the  sidewalk.  Mrs.  Pickering  had  him  ar- 
rested for  assault,  and  taken  before  'Squire  Stoddard, 
who,  after  a  full  hearing,  held  him  to  bail  in  the  sum 
of  one  hundred  dollars." 

This  notice  records  the  first  act  of  "self- 
defense"  undertaken  by  our  Crusaders ;  for  their 
uniform  creed  and  practice  had  been  kindness, 
prayer,  and  Christian  effort;  and  while  the  inci- 
dent was  greatly  deplored  by  the  leaders  of  the 
"band,"  yet  the  kindly  and  most  efficient  legal 
efforts  of  our  friend,  the  youthful  county  attor- 
ney, Mr.  Dumenil,  gave  such  satisfactory  results 
that  we,  as  Crusaders,  felt  compensated  in  the 
evident  sympathy  created  for  the  humane  side  of 
the  question  by  his  noble  efforts.  Mr.  Dumenil 
has  since  pleaded  for  "the  right"  in  a  wider 
field  in  his  Kansas  home,  where  his  merits  soon 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  121 

procured  for  him  position  and  power  to  make 
his  principles  felt. 

At  a  morning  meeting  in  the  old  Crusade 
Church,  about  the  25th  of  May,  1874,  a  message 
came  telling  of  the  arrest  of  Cincinnati's  Cru- 
saders, and  a  city  missionary  who  had  for  a  long 
time  been  preaching  on  the  streets  of  the  city 
unmolested. 

After  prayer  was  offered  in  behalf  of  the  per- 
secuted ones,  the  president  was  requested  to 
write  to  her  friends,  Mesdames  William  I.  Fee 
and  S.  K.  Leavitt,  expressive  of  the  heartfelt 
sympathy  of  our  entire  Association  in  this  their 
time  of  trial.  The  meeting  for  the  next  morn- 
ing was  to  be  appropriated  to  prayer  and  sup- 
plication for  their  particular  cases.  Before  our 
meeting  adjourned,  Mr.  Sayler  came  in  with  the 
cheering  news  that  the  Rocky  Fork  Distillery 
was  about  to  close  for  want  of  customers,  and 
that  the  Lynchburg  Distillery  was  closed.  These 
being  two  of  Highland  County's  "high  towers 
of  iniquity,"  much  joy  was  felt  upon  the  report, 
and  the  grand  old  doxology  was  sung  "  with  the 
spirit  and  the  understanding,"  and  we  were  dis- 
missed by  Brother  McSurely  with  a  tender  bene- 
diction in  reference  to  the  treatment  of  Cincin- 
nati's noble  women. 

Some  time  before  a  committee  had  been 
empowered  to  name  a  number  of  gentlemen 


122  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

who  would  serve  in  a  county  and  township  tem- 
perance organization.  The  following  gentlemen 
agreed,  and  a  more  judicious  selection  could  not 
have  been  made:  General  McDowell,  Judge 
Mathews,  Drs.  P.  H.  Wever,  H.  S.  Fullerton, 
and  Marshall  A.  Nelson.  The  accepted  mission 
was  at  once  entered  upon  by  this  committee, 
and  the  Crusaders  responded  very  heartily  to  all 
invitations  to  aid  in  this  work  of  the  new  tem- 
perance organization. 


XIII. 

IN  view  of  the  increasing  business  that  seemed 
to  be  opening  up  before  our  Association,  a 
meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  was  called, 
and  the  appointment  of  two  vice-presidents  re- 
sulted— Mrs.  John  A.  Smith  and  Mrs.  Judge 
Evans — and  our  women  felt  greatly  strengthened 
by  the  addition  of  two  such  aids  for  future 
conflicts. 

When  we  assembled  the  following  morning 
for  the  appointed  prayer  service  in  behalf  of  our 
brave  but  persecuted  Cincinnati  sisters,  it  so 
turned  out  that  the  Pittsburg  Crusaders  were  in 
like  peril,  and  although  their  names  were  then 
less  familiar  than  since,  sympathy  in  the  same 
glorious  cause  made  us  one  in  the  Master. 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  123 

Further  reports  gave  the  assurance  that  these 
noble  women  were  persecuted  even  more  cruelly 
than  Cincinnati's  martyrs!  And  so  our  tears 
and  our  songs,  our  prayers  and  our  rejoicings 
in  being  among  those  who  were  counted  wor- 
thy to  suffer  persecution  for  Christ's  sake,  caused 
us  to  sit  together  in  a  heavenly  place  that 
morning. 

Much  enthusiasm  was  felt  and  expressed  by 
ministers  and  laymen.  Dr.  McSurely  on  that 
morning  expressed  his  opinion  as  to  the  political 
drift  of  the  movement.  He  seemed  to  believe 
that  "  the  contest  would  finally  be  between 
American  ideas  of  liberty  and  right,  and  the 
German  infidel  idea  of  uncontrolled  license,  not 
only  in  regard  to  temperance  but  to  all  the  prin- 
ciples of  truth  for  which  our  Puritan  ancestry 
braved  the  terrors  of-the  New  England  wilder- 
ness, and  which  they  sealed  and  established 
with  their  blood!" 

After  a  lapse  of  nearly  twenty  years,  these 
words  of  our  faithful  Crusade  friend  and  brother 
seem  prophetic,  as  we  scan  the  existing  struggle 
(political)  between  right  and  wrong,  and  witness 
the  "Sunday-closing"  experience  of  American 
statesmen  against  the  uncontrolled  and  " infidel" 
ideas  of  foreign  powers,  the  worst  element  of 
which  has  the  privilege  of  the  ballot  on  Ameri- 
can soil.  It  is  well  that  the  women  still  "cling 


124  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

to  the  promises  and  look  up,"  as  the  old  colored 
Baptist  brother  said  he  did  when  he  fell;  for  our 
God's  promise  is  sure  and  steadfast  "  The  way 
of  the  wicked  he  turneth  upside  down ;"  and 
"though  it  tarry,  wait  for  it,  because  it  will 
surely  come." 

There  was  much  accomplished  during  the 
weeks  following, — boxes  packed  and  sent  to 
flood-sufferers;  meetings  for  the  young  people 
and  the  children ;  visitations  to  the  prison  by 
our  faithful  committee,  Miss  Julia  Brown,  Mrs. 
Stevenson,  Mrs.  Pickering,  and  others.  But, 
above  all,  the  county  meetings  at  church  and 
school-house  were  vigorously  sustained. 

About  the  23d  of  June  it  was  suggested  and 
approved,  at  the  morning  meeting,  that  arrange- 
ments be  made  for  having  a  grand  temperance 
picnic  at  the  fair-ground  on  the  Fourth  of  July, 
and  that  a  notice  and  general  invitation  be  pub- 
lished in  the  town  papers  and  by  posters,  so  that 
all  good  friends  of  the  cause  throughout  the 
county  might  have  ample  time  to  make  their 
plans  to  join  us.  After  much  labor  and  great 
executive  ability  on  the  part  of  the  officers  in 
charge,  committees  were  decided  upon  as  fol- 
lows :  Arrangement,  speakers,  music,  program , 
reception  of  delegates  from  townships,  marshal 
of  the  day,  chairman,  secretary,  and  reporter. 

The  day's  success  proved  to  many  a  doubter 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  125 

the  coming,  quiet,  orderly  beauty  in  store  for 
humanity,  when  "  righteousness  shall  cover  the 
earth"  and  "the  beauty  of  the  Lord  our  God  be 
upon  us."  There  was  fine  music  (gratis)  from 
the  Hillsboro  orchestra,  and  good  speaking. 
Large,  spreading  oaks  shaded  the  beautiful 
green  sward  below,  on  which  each  township 
delegation  was  received  by  a  committee  of  Hills- 
boro Crusaders,  and  welcomed  under  their  own 
marked  bower.  Many  smiling  visitors  from  the 
town,  also,  who  had  failed  to  join  in  the  saloon 
feature  of  our  work,  were  free  to  appreciate  and 
commend  the  "  lovely  effects  of  the  Crusade  in 
the  Fourth  of  July  celebration,"  especially  when 
they  saw  the  honest  joy  it  gave  the  Crusading 
ladies  to  provide  the  best  they  had  for  the  re- 
freshment of  the  wives  and  children  of  the  ex- 
saloon-keepers. 

The  first  business  of  note  after  the  successful 
"Fourth"  was  the  resignation  of  our  valued 
recording  secretary,  Mrs.  D.  K.  Fenner,  who  had 
served  us  so  faithfully  from  the  first  day  of  our 
work,  and  had  kept  the  record  so  much  in  the 
spirit  of  our  Crusade  that  no  word  of  bitterness 
or  malice  could  be  found  upon  the  "  minutes," 
although  diligent  search  was  made  (as  confessed 
by  Mr.  Dunn's  attorneys),  hoping  thereby  to 
establish  the  plea  of  persecution  against  their 
client.  Mrs.  Fenner's  needed  absence  from  home 


126  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

\ 

made  her  resignation  a  necessity,  hence  we  sub- 
mitted. But  in  the  good  providence  of  God, 
who  "sets  one  thing  over  against  another,"  we 
were  greatly  rejoiced  to  find  that  Miss  Virginia 
H.  Wever  was  willing  to  serve  us,  and  her  name 
being  duly  presented,  she  was  elected  unani- 
mously by  a  rising  vote,  and  from  July  13  to 
October  29,  1874,  we  rejoiced  in  her  prompt, 
efficient  aid,  and  in  her  unusual  ability  as  a 
parliamentarian,  which  at  that  early  date  of  our 
Crusade  was  rare. 

The  absorbing  theme  in  hamlet,  county,  and 
town  now  was  the  approaching  test-vote — license 
or  no  license.  To  this  end  Rev.  Dr.  Leonard, 
then  of  Cincinnati,  had  been  invited  to  Hills- 
boro,  and  on  the  evening  before  the  election 
made  one  of  his  masterly  efforts  in  Music  Hall, 
which  had  a  very  fine  effect  upon  the  minds  of 
our  people.  As  usual,  the  amiable  Crusaders 
had  worked  hard  all  the  weeks  of  the  past  "no- 
license  campaign,"  and  now,  at  the  crisis,  they 
could  not  use  the  only  effective  weapon  in  such 
an  emergency;  but  they  felt  assured  that  their 
cry  would  be  heard  at  the  court  of  heaven; 
hence,  an  all-day  prayer,  song,  and  conference 
meeting  was  held  on  the  day  the  men  voted. 
The  burden  of  the  prayers  that  day  was:  "O, 
Lord,  help  the  men  to  vote  right  in  thy  sight, 
and  hasten  the  day  when  the  curse  of  home  may 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  127 

be  banished  from  this  and  every  land!"    And  all 
the  Crusaders  (women  and  men)  said,  Amen. 

At  the  evening  service,  after  learning  of  our 
victories,  General  McDowell,  the  uniform  friend 
of  the  ladies  in  their  efforts  in  the  temperance 
work,  paid  a  high  tribute  to  their  efficiency  in 
the  late  conflict,  and  said  emphatically:  "It  is 
my  opinion  that  the  work  and  speaking  of  the 
women  saved  the  township  and  county  on  the 
i8th."  Thereupon  the  Rev.  S.  D.  Clayton  arose 
and  said:  "Yes,  General,  when  I  heard  of  the  vic- 
tory in  Liberty  Township  and  Highland  County, 
I  said,  and  now  repeat  it,  'May  the  Lord  bless 
these  earnest,  noble  women!'  and  he  will." 


XIV. 

H 

AT  the  close  of  the  summer  of  187^  Auxiliary 
Temperance  Leagues  had  been  formed  in 
almost  every  township  of  Highland  County.  The 
license  clause  of  the  new  State  Constitution  had 
been  defeated,  and,  although  all  had  not  been  ac- 
complished in  our  own  community  that  was  de- 
sired or  sought  after,  yet  there  was  a  state  of 
reformation  and  safety  existing  that  furnished  at 
least  great  hopes  for  the  future. 

A  call  came  about  this  time  from  a  duly-au- 
thorized group  of  Christian  ladies — women  who 


128  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

had  "drawn  near  to  God  in  saloon  prayer-meet- 
ings " — and  "  as  they  recounted  the  wonders  of  the 
great  uprising"  at  the  restful  retreat,  Chautau- 
qua,  their  hearts  "burning  within  them"  for  still 
greater  work,  so  this  call  was  made  upon  every 
League  of  temperance  women  in  the  Crusade 
States.  They  were  requested  to  call  Cconventions 
for  the  purpose  of  electing  a  woman  from  each 
congressional  district  as  delegate  to  an  organiz- 
ing Convention,  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Cleve- 
land, O.,  November  18-20,  1874. 

The  history  of  that  memorable  Convention  at 
Cleveland  and  its  origin  was  so  well  delineated 
by  the  graceful  pen  of  our  Crusade  sister,  Mrs. 
W.  A.  Ingham,  of  Cleveland,  for  the  Louisville 
Convention  of  the  National  W.  C.  T.  U.,  that  I 
wish  every  White-ribbon  sister  had  a  copy  of  it 
in  her  own  scrapbook.  We  poor  mortals  fail, 
ofttimes,  to  take  in  the  meaning  of  events  as 
they  pass,  but  afterward  the  handwriting  of  di- 
vinity becomes  legible.  Surely  it  was  so  with 
some  of  us  in  the  case  of  that  first  National  Tem- 
perance Convention  of  women. 

It  was  my  high  privilege  to  have  received  the 
majority  vote  from  our  district  as  the  delegate  to 
that  Convention;  and  but  for  the  fact  that  our  be- 
loved State  president,  Mrs.  Prof.  McCabe,  of  Del- 
aware, Ohio,  would  be  there,  and  with  her  gentle, 
sweet,  cultured  womanhood  afford  an  apology  for 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  1 29 

such  a  venture,  I  should  hardly  have  felt  that  I 
could  accept;  for  Conventions  had  always  been 
associated  in  my  mind  with  men  of  business,  of 
Church  or  State,  and  especially  with  political 
nominations.  True,  I  had  been  led  by  the  Spirit 
and  the  convulsion  of  events  to  pray  in  saloons 
and  on  the  street ;  but  what  would  we  gain  by 
bearing  the  persecutions  resulting  from  holding 
Conventions?  After  the  lapse  of  twenty  years, 
let  the  organized  power  of  woman  in  the  temper- 
ance reform  of  the  world  answer  this  question! 
The  minutes  of  our  Association,  so  accurately 
and  beautifully  kept  by  our  secretary,  Miss  Wever, 
during  these  days  and  weeks  of  uneventful  toil, 
show  much  of  interest,  but  of  such  a  purely  lo- 
cal character  that  we  must  not  overburden  our 
pages.  The  morning  prayer-meetings,  evening 
mass-meetings,  three  times  each  week  in  the  dif- 
ferent churches,  the  children's  gatherings  once  a 
week,  and  the  young  people's  three  times  each 
month,  with  much  interest  in  connection  with 
many  other  avenues  of  usefulness,  continued  until 
January  i,  1874,  when  the  ministers  expressed  a 
desire  to  hold  religious  services  each  in  their  own 
churches,  hoping  thereby  to  conserve  the  spirit- 
ual developments  of  the  Crusade  in  a  more  per- 
sonal and  pronounced  way  than  could  be  done  in 
the  general  temperance-meetings.  They  can  not 
be  accused  of  a  sectarian  spirit  in  this;  for  in  the 

9 


130  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

language  of  one  of  their  number,  our  faithful 
Crusade  Brother  Cowden,  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  they  all  agreed.  He  said  at  an 
evening  meeting  just  before  the  program  was 
changed:  "I  shall  not  be  here  many  weeks 
longer;  but  no  matter  where  I  shall  go  in  the 
providence  of  God,  or  how  loi  g  I  shall  live,  we 
can  never  forget  the  pleasant  hours  spent  in 
Hillsboro,  and  particularly  the  pleasantness  of 
the  temperance  work — where  Christians  forgot 
their  denominational  lines  and  escaped  from 
their  sectarian  prejudices,  to  labor  as  one  Church, 
as  one  family  in  Christ,  for  the  great  cause  of 
temperance !  I  confess  the  closer  I  am  brought 
into  relationship  with  our  Churches,  and  the 
more  I  know  about  them,  the  more  I  love  them." 

When  the  time  came  around  for  the  observ- 
ance of  our  Crusade  anniversary,  December  23, 
1874,  there  was  but  one  feeling-  Our  grand 
army  of  pledged  children  being,  as  the  Crusaders 
felt,  their  brightest  trophies  of  the  year's  work, 
it  was  determined  to  make  it  a  children's  pass- 
over;  and  most  happy  was  the  thought,  for  at 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  on  the  23d,  parents 
and  children,  Crusaders  and  ministers,  all  com- 
bined to  raise  a  grateful  Ebenezer  in  the  old 
church,  where,  one  year  before,  a  few  women  had 
timidly  sung,  "  Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears!" 

A   meeting   of  the   temperance   women   was 


HTLLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  131 

called  for  March  8,  1875,  at  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  A  letter  was  read  from  Mrs. 
William  I.  Fee,  of  Cincinnati,  urging  the  ladies 
of  Hillsboro  to  give  their  aid  in  getting  up  the 
State  Temperance  Fair,  to  be  held  in  Cincinnati 
the  second  week  of  April.  The  Crusaders,  old 
and  young,  entered  into  the  scheme  with  zeal. 
A  Committee  of  Arrangements  was  formed  of 
the  following  ladies,  who  were  to  meet  for  further 
consultation  at  Mrs.  Thompson's  on  the  next 
day:  Mesdames  Rev.  Weatherby,  James  Patter- 
son, D.  K.  Fenner,  Miss  Virginia  H.  Wever,  Miss 
Ella  Dill.  Very  soon  a  beautiful  contribution  of 
fancy  and  useful  articles  was  ready,  and,  at  the 
time  appointed,  the  ladies  elected  to  sustain  the 
Hillsboro  table  at  the  fair  were  off  for  the  scene 
of  action.  A  beautiful  canopy  of  drab  material, 
ornamented  with  golden  letters,  shaded  with 
black  and  red,  handsomely  formed,  gave  forth 
from  the  old  Hillsboro  table  this  sentiment: 

"DEATH  TO  THE  TRAFFIC, 

BUT 
LIFE  TO  THE  SLAVE." 

Much  kindly  feeling  was  the  result  of  this  united 
effort,  and  some  money  in  the  temperance  treas- 
ury of  the  State  for  future  work. 


132  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

XV. 

THE  DUNN  TRIAL. 

ON  the  30th  day  of  January,  1874,  a  suit  f°r 
$10,000  damage  was  brought  by  David 
Johnson  and  Wm.  H.  H.  Dunn,  druggists  of 
Hillsboro,  Ohio,  against  the  temperance  people 
engaged  in  the  work  of  reform,  known  as  the 
"Woman's  Crusade."  This  suit  was  called  an 
"action  of  trespass,"  and  was  tried  at  the  May 
term  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  in  the  year 
1875,  before  the  Hon.  T.  M.  Gray,  R.  T.  Hough 
being  clerk  of  said  court,  and  Cary  T.  Pope, 
sheriff.  Counsel  for  the  plaintiff  were  Sloan  & 
Smith,  Collins  &  Dittey,  Henry  L,.  Dickey,  and 
Judge  Safford.  Counsel  for  the  defendants, 
A.  F.  Perry,  Cincinnati;  M.  J.  Williams,  Toledo; 
James  H.  Thompson,  A.  G.  Matthews,  and 
George  B.  Gardener,  of  Hillsboro. 

The  eventful  morning,  i7th  of  May,  1875, 
when  "  the  ladies  "  were  requested  to  take  their 
seats  in  the  court-room,  came  at  last.  There 
was  much  curiosity  as  to  the  conduct  of  the 
Crusaders;  but  the  slow,  solemn  peal  of  the 
old  church-bell  at  eight  o'clock  satisfied  all  that 
they  had  not  forgotten  their  morning  prayer- 
meeting.  Every  woman  was  at  her  post  promptly 
on  that  morning,  and  our  bright,  brave  young 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  133 

ladies,  who  were  so  true  and  useful  during  those 
Crusade  days  of  self-denial  and  cross-bearing, 
were  on  hand  in  full  force,  and  never  did  their 
sweet,  clear  voices  ring  out  with  such  pathos  as 
on  that  occasion. 

Precious  promises  from  God's  own  Word  were 
read  by  the  leader.  "  My  faith  looks  up  to  Thee," 
was  sung  with  much  feeling;  then  a  few  brief, 
earnest  prayers  were  offered,  just  to  the  point, 
notably  Mrs.  Foraker's,  which  made  a  lasting 
impression  upon  all  hearts.  She  appealed  to 
the  Lord,  "in  his  righteousness,  to  confuse  and 
confound  the  lawyers  who  were  engaged  in  prose- 
cuting the  women  of  Hillsboro  (who  were  his 
believing  children)  for  trying  to  remove  the 
stumbling-blocks  out  of  the  way  of  the  weak, 
and  to  establish  his  righteous  laws  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  our  com- 
munity." 

After  joining  with  "one  heart  and  one  mind" 
in  the  amen  to  that  prayer,  the  doxology  was 
sung;  then,  two-and-two,  the  line  of  march  was 
taken  up,  with  modest  mien  but  brave  hearts, 
for  the  court  of  justice. 

The  Crusaders  were  conducted  to  the  seats 
assigned  them,  and,  after  quietly  taking  in  the 
situation,  the  first  thing  that  attracted  attention 
was  the  heaps  of  law-books  profusely  marked, 
that  were  piled  upon  the  table  by  which  sat 


134  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

Judge  Safford  (senior  attorney  for  Dunn).  Natu- 
rally, we  "  poor,  weak  women  felt,  Can  there  be 
so  much  against  us  in  those  books  of  doom? 
But  we  cried  still  more  earnestly  (in  our  hearts), 
"O  Lord,  undertake  for  us!" 

For  some  time  after  we  took  our  seats  the 
judge  seemed  very  much  absorbed  examining 
these  books,  and  marking  new  points  of  law; 
finally  he  took  his  glasses  off,  placed  them  in  a 
bright  morocco  case,  laid  them  down  on  the 
table  (unfortunately  too  near  the  edge),  and, 
gracefully  turning  himself,  so  as  to  give  atten- 
tion to  the  speaker,  who  was  very  earnestly 
"  opening  the  case,"  lost  sight  of  his  spectacles. 
Quick  as  thought,  our  officious  little  dog  (named 
"  Busy  Bee  "  by  his  little  master,  because  of  his 
perpetual  motion),  danced  up  on  his  hind  legs  to 
the  table,  where  he  spied  the  bright  spectacle- 
case,  and,  taking  the  tip-end  between  his  little 
white  teeth,  darted  off  under  tables  and  seats 
to — nobody  knew  where.  Very  soon  there  was 
occasion  for  some  of  those  marked  portions 
of  legal  lore,  and  the  spectacles  were  in  de- 
mand, but  search  was  made  in  vain.  The  "  con- 
fusion "  that  followed  was  "confounding."  No 
one,  save  myself,  seemed  to  know  of  the  dog's 
trick,  and  I  was  called  out  to  meet  an  expected 
guest;  but  as  I  was  passing  hastily  out,  Mrs. 
Foraker  drew  me  down  to  her,  and,  with  her 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  135 

expressive  face  all  aglow,  said :  "  I  do  believe  I 
prayed  a  little  too  hard." 

The  court-room  was  crowded  every  day  by 
visitors  from  town  and  vicinity,  and  from  a 
distance.  In  the  hope  of  convicting  the  Cru- 
saders of  damaging  Mr.  Dunn's  trade,  many  wit- 
nesses had  been  subpoenaed.  Examinations  and 
cross-examinations  were  indulged  in  on  both 
sides,  to  the  utter  weariness  of  all  concerned. 
Finally  the  argument,  in  all  its  variety  com- 
menced, and,  as  the  minutes  have  it,  "argu- 
ments, reason,  logic,  pathos,  humor,  impassioned 
defense,  and  malicious  personalities,  which  are 
better  forgotten  than  recorded;"  after  which  the 
judge  charged  the  jury.  The  eagerness  with 
which  its  action  was  awaited  can  well  be  im- 
agined. The  countenances  of  the  Crusaders  said 
in  legible  lines  of  unrest,  "Vain  is  the  help  of 
man,"  remembering  the  rulings  of  the  judge; 
but  when  the  bell  rang,  hundreds  from  the  out- 
side, willing  to  shout  for  the  winning  side,  flocked 
to  the  court-house  to  hear  the  doom.  The  jury, 
obliged  to  base  their  decision  upon  the  legal 
proofs  in  the  case,  as  allowed  by  the  court, 
found  the  defendants  guilty  of  trespass.  And  as  it 
was  proved  that  Mr.  Dunn  lost  the  sale  of  a  gallon 
of  coal-oil  and  some  other  trifling  matter  in  con- 
sequence of  the  presence  of  the  ladies  on  his 
steps  and  sidewalks,  the  damages  were  put  at 


136  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

five  dollars  instead  of  ten  thousand;  but  that 
was  enough  to  throw  the  costs  upon  the  temper- 
ance men.  Immediately  a  bill  of  exceptions 
was  made  to  Judge  Gray's  rulings  by  counsel  for 
the  defense,  and  the  case  was  sent  to  the  Superior 
Court.  Expectation  was  quite  general  that  the 
decision  would  be  reversed ;  but  it  never  was,  be- 
cause the  active  member  of  the  firm,  Wm.  H.  H. 
Dunn,  soon  after  took  the  benefit  of  the  bank- 
rupt law,  and  his  assignee  declined  to  defend  the 
suit  in  the  Supreme  Court.  The  costs  were  set- 
tled, and  the  wrath  of  man  became  as  "stubble 
fully  dry,"  and  was  "devoured,"  as  was  promised 
in  Nahuin  i,  10. 


XVI. 

AFTER  the  weariness  and  excitement  of  the 
Dunn  trial,  the  undaunted,  invincible  Cru- 
saders met  again  in  the  dear  old  church  where 
their  first  vows  were  recorded,  and  proceeded  to 
business  as  quietly  and  peacefully  as  though  they 
had  not  been  under  the  arrest  of  human  judg- 
ment, feeling  in  their  hearts  the  comforting  as- 
surance, "If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against 
us?"  The  devotions  on  that  day  were  solemn 
and  impressive,  and  plans  for  future  work  were 
entered  into  with  harmony  and  zeal. 

First,  it  was  decided  to  meet  weekly,  at  the 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  137 

homes  of  the  members  of  the  League  alternately, 
for  prayer  and  conference;  once  each  month  a 
public  temperance-meeting  should  be  held  in  one 
of  the  churches;  children's  temperance-meeting 
once  a  week,  and  the  young  people  of  the  town 
be  urged  to  continue  their  gatherings  three  times 
each  month.  The  feeling  had  been  growing  on 
the  part  of  the  ladies  that  a  room  set  apart  for 
their  own  line  of  work  was  a  necessity,  and  they 
voted  unanimously  in  favor  of  immediate  action. 
Later,  by  appointment,  the  following  committee 
took  charge  of  the  matter :  Mesdames  Dr.  Sams, 
D.  K.  Fenner,  S.  Janes,  J.  Stevenson,  E.  J. 
Thompson.  From  the  minutes  we  find:  "Mon- 
day evening,  December  6,  1875,  the  general 
monthly  temperance-meeting  was  held  in  the 
League-room  for  the  first  time.  By  the  united 
request  of  the  ladies,  Dr.  McSurely  conducted 
the  services  of  dedicating  our  little  temple  to 
God  and  humanity,  and  it  was  done  in  a  man- 
ner most  helpful  and  pleasing  to  all  in  attend- 
ance. After  singing  'He  leadeth^  me,'  Mrs. 
Thompson  was  asked  to  give  the  history  of  the 
League-room,  how  it  was  obtained,  how  and  by 
whom  furnished,  etc.  This  she  did,  and  demon- 
strated fully  that  the  whole  thing  was  a  special 
providence" 

The  detailed  account  as  given  then  would  be 
uninteresting  at  this  late  day;  but  we  may,  with 


138  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

righteous  pride,  turn  to  our  "temple"  in  Chicago, 
the  outcome  of  "woman's  faith." 

This  humble  old  building  was  divided  by  a 
slight  partition  into  two  rooms.  Removing  this 
line  of  separation,  we  had  a  respectable  oblong 
room,  with  front  door  and  two  windows,  the  same 
in  the  rear.  Plaster,  paint,  paper,  scrubbing- 
brushes,  carpet,  seats,  tables,  stove,  blinds,  mot- 
toes, pictures,  Bible,  and  books  of  song  and  many 
other  conveniences,  were  all  the  spontaneous  of- 
ferings of  earnest  hearts.  Not  one  dollar  of  debt 
was  left  upon  the  ladies  when  the  first  songs  of 
praise  and  voice  of  prayer  were  heard  under 
that  lowly,  consecrated  roof. 

A  series  of  morning  meetings  of  a  devotional 
character  had  been  arranged  to  follow  the  open- 
ing service  of  the  League-room.  These  meetings 
were  to  be  presided  over  by  the  Crusaders,  alter- 
nately, and  this  Tuesday  morning  service  was 
assigned  to  me.  As  our  audience  increased,  and 
the  sweet  songs  of  Zion  floated  out  upon  the 
clear,  crisp  air  of  that  December  morning,  a 
noble  heart  for  whom  earnest  prayers  were  as- 
cending from  that  sacred  place  felt  "strangely 
drawn;"  and  when  the  dignified  form  of  General 
McDowell  entered  this  newly-dedicated  "tem- 
ple," and  took  a  seat  near  the  door,  there  was  a 
visible  mark  of  answered  prayer  upon  the  faces 
of  many  present. 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  139 

After  several  prayers,  songs,  and  telling  ex- 
periences, the  leader  invited  her  "Uncle  Mc- 
Dowell" (in  a  friendly  way)  to  say  something  to 
them ;  as  he  had  throughout  the  Crusade  been 
such  a  wonderful  stay  and  help  to  the  ladies,  all 
felt  a  desire  to  hear  from  him  now  in  their  new 
line  of  work.  At  once  he  arose,  laid  off  his  over- 
coat, and,  walking  slowly  up  towards  the  front 
said,  with  quivering  lip:  "I  am  not  worthy  to 
speak  before  you  good  women.  During  the  war 
I  grew  more  and  more  hardened  and  embittered, 
as  those  professing  Christianity  vilified  ea'ch 
other,  and  brothers  shed  their  own  brother's 
blood.  I  confess  I  came  to  believe  there  was  no 
such  thing  as  religion.  But  I  have  watched  the 
Crusaders  with  an  interest  few  understood,  and  as 
I  have  seen  those  among  you  who  were  tenderly 
reared,  kneel  upon  the  sawdust  floors — yea,  even 
upon  the  pavements  in  front  of  barred  doors — and 
have  heard  them,  with  tears  coursing  down  their 
cheeks,  pray  for  their  worse  than  murderers,  and 
for  their  wives  and  children,  and  then  have  fol- 
lowed them  to  the  churches,  and  found  the  same 
spirit  evinced  there,  I  have  been  led  to  feel — yes, 
that  is  the  Christ  love!  And  I  want  to  tell  you, 
my  dear  sisters,  that  I  feel  it  in  my  heart  this 
morning!"  He  was  deeply  moved,  and  so  were 
all  who  heard  him.  And  that  dear  little  wife, 
our  first  vice-president  and  zealous  Crusader,  who 


140  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

had  prayed  so  faithfully  for  the  beloved  husband 
of  her  youth  for  fifty  years,  now  realized  with 
new  joy  the  faithfulness  of  her  covenant-keeping 
God,  and  joined  the  happy  group  of  sympathiz- 
ing friends  in  songs  of  praise.  That  meeting, 
long  to  be  remembered,  closed  with  a  new  seal 
of  God's  approval  upon  the  Crusade,  and  a 
recognition  of  his  presence  in  our  "gospel  tem- 
perance "  meetings. 

General  McDowell  lost  no  time  in  communi- 
cating with  his  friend  and  pastor,  Dr.  McSurely, 
and  at  once  renewed  his  early  membership  with 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  From  the  hour  of  his 
new  life-experience  his  growth  in  grace,  and 
marvelous  Christian  development  were  "known 
and  read  of  all  men;"  for  the  tender  Savior  knew 
how  soon  he  would  be  called  from  labor  to  re- 
ward; hence  he  made  of  him  a  "shining  light." 
General  Joseph  J.  McDowell  was  a  successful 
man  in  life,  possessed  a  fine  personal  appearance, 
was  an  attractive  speaker,  fine  conversationalist, 
and  during  his  terms  of  public  service  in  State 
and  National  Councils,  won  laurels,  socially  as 
well  as  politically.  But  what  were  all  these 
perishable  gifts  and  graces  to  that  touch  of 
"Divine  love"  which  transformed  his  nature 
into  the  "image  of  the  heavenly,"  and  made  him 
meet  for  the  kingdom  that  "endureth  forever?" 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  141 


XVII. 

'""PHE  result  of  the  Spirit's  influence  in  the 
1  meetings  at  the  League  room  was  most 
manifest  and  helpful,  and  yet  the  loss  of  the 
sweet  songs  of  Zion  on  the  early  morning  air  in 
our  Crusade  services  seemed  greatly  missed  by 
many;  indeed  it  had  been  to  the  outside  world 
as  an  open-air  concert,  because  of  the  superior 
voices  of  our  faithful  and  devoted  leaders,  the 
three  sisters,  Annie,  Bessie,  and  Maggie  Wilson. 
The  two  elder  especially  were  our  reliance — for 
they  allowed  none  of  their  active  home  duties 
(never  neglected)  to  hinder  prompt  attention  to 
the  song-service  of  church,  street,  or  saloon ;  their 
bright  faces  and  the  clear,  soft  melody  of  their 
voices  gave  inspiration  to  many  a  faint  heart  dur- 
ing those  days  of  early  rising,  hard  work,  and 
bitter  persecution.  Aided  by  the  many  young 
ladies  of  our  town  who  possessed  gifts  of  voice, 
spirit,  and  will,  the  Crusade  movement  was  pe- 
culiarly fortunate  in  this  department. 

But  now  that  we  must  needs  be  shut  up,  as  it 
were,  in  close  communion,  under  our  own  vine 
and  fig-tree,  as  compensation  for  the  loss  of  much 
that  was  inspiring  we  almost  daily  witnessed 
God's*  power  in  some  new  and  striking  demon- 
stration of  the  Spirit.  Reports  were  now  brought 


142  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

into  our  League-room  meetings  of  conversions  in 
prison  through  our  zealous  sisters  in  charge  of 
that  work,  and  letters  were  read  from  prisoners 
in  our  county  jail  who  felt  they  were  God's  free 
men,  saved  from  their  sins  by  the  merits  of 
Christ  and  the  kindness  and  the  prayers  of  the 
good  women.  After  the  release  of  one  of  these 
men  from  prison  a  request  was  sent  to  the  So- 
ciety that  he  might,  before  leaving  for  his  home, 
be  permitted  to  attend  one  meeting  in  our  blessed 
League-room.  Consent  was  gladly  given,  and 
some  of  our  faithful  men  were  invited  to  meet 
with  us. 

As  the  time  drew  on  for  our  anniversary,  the 
general  feeling  was  that  the  day  must  have  spe- 
cial attention,  and  a  meeting  was  called  for  ma- 
turing plans,  in  fulfillment  of  which,  on  Thursday 
evening,  December  23,  1875,  Mrs.  D.  K.  Fenner, 
as  secretary  of  the  Woman's  League,  gave  a  con- 
densed report  of  the  Crusade  from  the  first  morn- 
ing, 1873,  until  present  date,  1875.  Mrs.  Pick- 
ering, as  secretary  of  the  children's  work,  reported 
that  branch,  and  Dr.  McSurely  (by  the  earnest 
request  of  the  ladies)  gave  a  finished  address, 
showing  that  "this  movement,  extending  as  it 
has  in  its  influence  over  the  whole  civilized  world? 
is  an  inspiration  of  God's  Holy  Spirit."  Thus 
was  marked  the  second  "milestone"  of  the 
Woman's  Crusade  in  Hillsboro. 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  143 

At  the  regular  monthly  meeting,  January  5, 
1876,  after  devotional  exercises  and  reading  the 
minutes,  it  stands  recorded:  "Mrs.  Thompson 
proposed  that  a  committee  be  appointed  at  once 
to  canvass  the  town  for  more  subscribers  to  the 
woman's  paper,  The  Union  Signal.'1'1 

The  next  business  in  order  was  the  consider- 
ation of  a  letter  from  Mrs.  H.  C.  McCabe,  Ohio's 
president,  with  regard  to  a  plan  of  her  own  de- 
vising, whereby  the  State  treasury  might  be  sup- 
plied, as  at  this  early  stage  of  our  work  it  was 
empty. 

Each  local  Union  was  requested  to  send  to  her, 
at  Delaware,  a  square  of  silk  of  given  dimensions, 
patchwork,  quilted  or  embroidered,  but  lined 
with  linen,  the  usual  gray  color,  and  on  that  linen 
lining  the  names  of  all  members  who  would  send 
a  dime  or  more  must  be  written  legibly,  and  if 
possible,  in  fadeless  ink. 

Our  ladies  at  once  responded,  favoring  the 
scheme,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  the  Hillsboro  block  for  the  "Ohio  Cru- 
sade quilt."  Mrs.  Weatherby,  who  was  superin- 
tendent of  the  Children's  Temperance  Band  at 
that  time,  provided  a  beautiful  square  for  them, 
and  sent  it,  with  $5,  each  child  giving  five  cents 
with  the  name.  Our  woman's  block  was  em- 
broidered handsomely,  and  $10  in  dimes  sent 
with  it. 


144  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

During  the  winter  of  1876  the  different 
Churches  of  our  town  had  been  faithfully  served 
by  their  respective  pastors  with  protracted  serv- 
ices, and  yet,  the  "  partition  walls"  having  been 
so  effectually  removed  during  the  Crusade,  there 
was  a  great  desire,  on  the  part  of  the  Christian 
women  especially,  that  there  should  be  a  union 
service,  where  all  denominations  could  once  more 
meet  around  one  common  "  mercy-seat."  The 
subject  was  brought  up  at  our  meetings  in  the 
League  room,  and  finding  no  opposition,  it  was 
made  a  subject  of  earnest  prayer. 

Very  soon  matters  were  all  adjusted.  The 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  being  the  largest  in 
town,  was,  by  consent  of  the  pastor,  Rev.  Lucien 
Clark,  and  trustees,  agreed  upon  as  the  proper 
place  for  holding  these  services.  Nathan  and 
Esther  Frame  had  been  secured  as  evangelists, 
and  for  weeks  a  most  blessed  revival  of  religion 
refreshed  and  strengthened  all  denominations.  - 

The  humble  little  League  room  was  found 
quite  too  small  for  the  new  additions  to  our  num- 
bers, who  flocked  to  our  gospel  temperance- 
meetings  ;  hence  the  women  of  the  Union  quickly 
procured  and  fitted  up  another  hall,  with  dimen- 
sions ample  for  all  purposes,  even  the  children's 
meetings. 

At  the  regular  monthly  temperance-meeting, 
May  i,  1876,  it  is  stated  in  the  minutes  that,  by 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  145 

request,  Mrs.  Thompson  gave  a  concise  account 
of  the  progress  of  the  work  during  the  past  two 
months.  She  also  spoke  of  the  work  in  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y.',  and  of  its  wonderful  results,  express- 
ing her  confidence  in  the  ultimate  success  of  the 
cause.  Her  address  was  followed  by  short 
speeches  from  Rev.  Mr.  Bowen,  of  the  Episcopal 
church;  General  McDowell,  and  Judge  Mathews. 
A  letter  was  read,  addressed  to  Mrs.  Thompson, 
from  the  national  president,  Mrs.  Wittenmeyer, 
requesting  the  Hillsboro  Crusaders  to  send  a  tel- 
egraphic protest  to  the  Centennial  Commission 
against  permitting  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors 
on  the  Centennial  Fair  grounds.  Such  telegram 
was  at  once  forwarded,  and  paid  for  by  the 
League.  Mrs.  Wittenmeyer  also  requested  the 
Hillsboro  League  to  contribute  to  the  National 
Temperance  Fair,  which  was  to  be  held  in  Phil- 
adelphia, beginning  the  second  week  in  June. 

The  Crusade  fire  still  burned  upon  the  altar 
of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union, 
and  it  is  inspiring  at  this  late  date  to  read  in 
their  minutes  the  comforting  facts  plainly  indi- 
cating that  the  "  God  of  Jacob  "  was  still  lead- 
ing on  to  the  victory,  which,  unseen  by  them, 
was  all  planned  by  his  mighty  love  and  power. 


146  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 


XVIII. 

"  A  PRIL  5,  1877 — Meeting  opened  by  Mrs. 
i\  Thompson,  who  read  the  i46th  Psalm, 
and  suggested  that  we  concentrate  our  faith  and 
prayers  upon  the  coming  of  Francis  Murphy  the 
following  week  to  our  town,  that  the  promises 
contained  in  our  blessed  Crusade  psalm  may  be 
verified  in  the  hearts  and  homes  of  our  people, 
and  that  the  Lord  in  his  mercy  may  at  that 
time  '  raise '  some  that  have  been  long  bowed 
down."  (Minutes.) 

The  prayers  that  were  then  offered  came  from 
warm  hearts  and  not  from  feigned  lips  !  And, 
as  the  sequel  proved,  were  heard  in  heaven, 
u  His  dwelling-place,"  and  answered  on  earth  to 
the  joy  of  many  hearts. 

The  "Murphy  Temperance  Movement"  was 
inaugurated  in  Greenfield,  Highland  County, 
Ohio,  early  in  the  spring  of  1877.  Hon.  Henry 
L,.  Dicky,  ex-member  of  Congress  of  that  place, 
became  a  convert  to  the  new  code  of  sobriety, 
"with  malice  toward  none  and  charity  for  all," 
and  it  had  a  magical  effect  upon  his  brethren  of 
the  Hillsboro  bar,  composed,  as  it  had  been  for 
many  years,  of  men  possessing  unusual  talent 
and  rare  legal  ability,  famous,  most  of  them,  for 
social  qualities,  too  often  sinfully  heightened  by 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  147 

that  enemy  which  "steals  away  the  brain.'* 
Hence  the  "Macedonian  cry"  was  the  more 
gladly  heeded  by  the  distinguished  convert  -of 
Greenfield,  and  he  came  over  to  aid  our  earnest 
aspirants  after  a  new  code  of  jurisprudence. 

On  the  appointed  evening,  May  14,  1877,  the 
city  hall  was  lighted  up,  the  Hillsboro  orchestra 
was  in  fine  tune,  anxious  hearts  were  throbbing, 
and  all  things  seemed  to  take  on  a  readiness  for 
the  very  remarkable  "Temperance  Pentecost," 
which,  inaugurated  upon  that  evening,  grew  to 
such  amazing  proportions  in  our  county. 

Many  of  the  men  who  were  then  redeemed 
from  the  curse  of  appetite  are  to-day  beacon- 
lights,  and  some  have  left 

"Footprints  on  the  sands  of  time," 
For 

"A  forlorn  and  shipwrecked  brother." 

The  grace  of  forgiving  spirits  engendered  by 
the  "love  that  never  faileth"  was  beautifully 
illustrated  in  the  harmony  that  characterized  the 
blending  of  Crusaders  and  Murphyites  in  the 
work  which  followed;  indeed,  the  prominent 
counsel  on  Dunn's  side,  in  his  suit  against  the 
women  of  the  temperance  siege,  were  for  a  long 
time  among  the  most  earnest  and  zealous  co- 
workers  in  the  grand  battle  for  the  right  in  the 
"  Blue  Ribbon  "  army. 


148  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

For  many  months  the  converts  to  the  peace- 
ful, God-trusting  card  of  Francis  Murphy  formed 
a  self-constituted  band  of  workers,  and  went  into 
rural  districts,  and  by  invitation  to  adjoining 
towns,  speaking  to  crowds  and  gaining  signa- 
tures to  the  pledge  by  the  hundreds.  And  as 
so  many  of  our  "Murphy  men"  were  lawyers, 
we  had  the  advantage  of  trained  talkers,  and 
much  good  came  of  their  efforts.  Strange  to 
say,  when  the  gospel  of  temperance  takes  hold 
of  the  conscience,  it  is  apUto  inspire  the  heart 
with  such  interest  in  poor  humanity  that  words 
are  given,  as  we  have  seen  abundantly  proved 
in  this  as  other  communities. 

After  a  visit  from  Francis  Murphy  and  months 
of  ceaseless  labor,  the  "Murphy  men,"  aided  by 
the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  and 
the  ministers  of  the  town,  commenced  each 
Sunday  afternoon  "Murphy  meetings"  at  city 
hall.  These  services  continued  to  be  well  sus- 
tained for  years,  and  were  always  cheered  by 
the  faithful  few,  among  them  my  husband, 
Judge  Thompson,  who  at  this  late  day  is  justly 
proud  to  be  recognized  as  a  successful  "  Murphy 
man,"  and  much  of  the  joy  of  our  declining  years 
results  from  the  peaceful  blending  of  the  senti- 
ments represented  by  our  badges — white  and 
blue. 

During  all  the  years  since  1877  the  work  of 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES,  149 

the  Crusaders,  although  taking  on  new  forms  of 
service  and  new  lines  of  work,  has  kept  march- 
ing on.  Notable  workers,  both  women  and  men, 
have  from  time  to  time  been  with  us  by  invita- 
tion, and  thus  we  have  been  greatly  strength- 
ened. Since  the  days  of  Crusade  zeal  and 
Murphy  helpfulness,  however,  the  White-ribbon 
sisterhood  finds  it  much  more  difficult  to  keep 
a  full  treasury,  and  many  times  our  aspiration 
after  the  oratory  of  truth  fails  to  culminate, 
simply  because  we  can  not  afford  it,  and  those 
who  could  help  us  will  not  do  it. 


XIX. 

TENTH  ANNIVERSARY. 

IT  was  on  the  morning  of  December  24,  1873, 
that  our  women  first  set  out,  heeding  only 
the  inward  voice  which  said:  "This  is  the  way; 
walk  ye  in  it."  As  the  tenth  anniversary  drew 
near,  the  Crusaders  were  impelled  to  celebrate  it 
in  a  service  commensurate  with  the  thanksgiving 
in  their  hearts. 

By  invitation  of  the  Union,  Frances  E.  Wil- 
lard,  the  beloved  national  president,  accom- 
panied by  Miss  Esther  Pugh,  treasurer  of  the 
National  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union, 


150  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

and  Miss  Anna  Gordon,  Miss  Willard's  faithful 
private  secretary,  came  to  add  honor  to  the  day. 
A  reception  and  supper  in  Music  Hall,  on  the 
evening  of  December  22d,  was  a  financial  and 
social  success.  Services  for  the  children  were 
held  on  Sunday,  23d,  at  2  P.  M.,  conducted  by 
Miss  Gordon  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
assisted  by  Miss  Pugh.  A  Murphy  meeting  in 
the  City  Hall,  at  three  o'clock,  was  in  charge  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Shade,  at  which  Miss  Willard  narrated 
the  call  to  which  she  surrendered  the  cherished 
plans  of  her  life  to  become  an  evangel  to  "the 
great  unwashed,  untaught,  ungospeled  multi- 
tude." Exceptionally  fine  music  completed  a 
memorable  service. 

A  mass-meeting  in  the  evening  was  presided 
over  by  Mrs.  Thompson  at  the  Methodist  church, 
assisted  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Weatherby,  pastor  of  the 
Baptist  Church  of  Seville,  Ohio.  Miss  Esther 
Pugh,  with  the  unflinching  principles  of  her 
Friends'  faith,  and  the  never-give-up  spirit  of  the 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  was  the 
most  suitable  reader  of  the  Crusade  psalm.  The 
battle  hymn  of  the  Crusade  was  most  impress- 
ively rendered  as  a  quartet  and  chorus,  all  of 
which  made  a  fine  setting  for  Miss  Willard's 
thrilling  exposition  of  the  results  of  a  decade  of 
Crusade  work.  A  liberal  contribution  was  made 
for  the  national  treasury,  and  Rev.  John  Pearson, 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  151 

presiding  elder  of  the  Hillsboro  District,  invoked 
the  blessing  of  God  at  the  close. 

Storms  and  cold  winds  had  too  long  seasoned 
the  spirit  of  the  Crusaders  for  them  to  be  intim- 
idated by  the  rigors  of  the  morning  of  December 
24th,  which  found  them  assembled  in  the  old 
Crusade  Church  with  hearts  glowing  with  mem- 
ory of  the  goodness  of  God  and  the  power  of  the 
truth.  As  Miss  Mattie  Mather  said  :  "The  mar- 
velous growth  of  the  Temperance  Crusade,  now 
making  our  quiet  conservative  town  a  very  Beth- 
lehem, was  most  aptly  illustrated  by  the  ancient 
legend  of  the  tent  in  the  walnut,  brought  by  an 
Oriental  prince  to  his  father,  which  being  un- 
folded, covered  the  king,  the  councilors,  the 
kingdom  and  the  world." 

The  same  faithful  pastor,  Dr.  McSurely,  of 
this  same  dear  old  Church,  as  true  to  the  cause 
as  ten  years  before,  opened  the  meeting,  but 
after  devotional  exercises  and  cheering  comfort 
of  speech,  turned  the  service  over  to  the  ladies 
by  calling  to  the  chair  the  president  elected  just 
ten  years  before.  After  reading  the  I46th  Psalm, 
she  gave  her  testimony  to  the  faithfulness  of  "a 
covenant-keeping  God,"  who  had  verified  his 
promises  made  to  her  ten  years  previous,  by 
"vindicating  the  wrongs  of  the  oppressed,"  by 
loosing  the  prisoners,  by  opening  the  eyes  of  the 
blind,  by  raising  up  those  who  were  bowed 


152  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

down,  and  by  "turning  the  way  of  the  wicked 
upside  down." 

Well  knowing  that  hearts  and  ears  were  wait- 
ing for  the  inspired  words  of  Miss  Willard,  al- 
ways eloquent  and  soul-moving,  she  was  doubly 
so  in  responding  to  the  invitation  to  speak  on 
this  blessed  day. 

"Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears"  was  sung  at 
her  request,  after  which  a  memorial  paper  was 
read  by  Mrs.  Janes,  in  which  tender  record  was 
made  of  the  members  of  the  original  Crusade 
band  who  had  gone  from  labor  to  reward,  and 
of  whom  it  might  be  well  said,  "  Their  works  do 
follow  them." 

TESTIMONIES. 

Mrs.  General  Joseph  McDowell  gave  a  brief 
account  of  the  wonderful  conversion  of  her  noble 
husband  at  a  prayer-meeting  in  the  first  room 
set  apart  for  the  use  of  the  temperance  women. 
Mrs.  McDowell  gave  us  many  incidents  of 
interest  connected  with  those  wonderful  days. 
This  stirred  the  souls  of  others,  and  one  after  an- 
other related  some  striking  reminiscence  of  '73 
and  '74,  until  the  noon  hour  admonished  us  that 
time  was  only  too  short  for  the  pent-up  memo- 
ries of  those  days  of  spiritual  power. 

Mrs.  •  Margaret  Stevens,  a  faithful  worker, 
though  a  most  retiring  one,  was  urged  to  relate  the 
following  incident  of  the  war  of  bloodless  vie- 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  153 

tories :  On  one  occasion  when  we  were  trying  to 
save  the  poor  men  from  entering  those  places  of 
death,  our  leader,  who  was  holding  a  prayer- 
meeting  in  front  of  a  saloon,  noticed  that  the 
back  entrance  was  becoming  popular,  and  sug- 
gested that  it  would  be  well  to  guard  that  point. 
I  said  I  would  be  one  to  go,  and  Mrs.  Doggett 
joined  me.  Very  soon  two  young  men  ap- 
proached, evidently  not  sober.  One,  having  a 
gun  upon  his  shoulder,  insisted  upon  having 
their  rights.  We  said:  "You  have  no  right  to 
destroy  yourselves."  The  gun  was  taken  down 
in  a  menacing  manner  by  the  young  man  as  he 
approached  me.  Just  at  that  instant  Mrs.  Dog- 
gett stepped  up,  and  in  her  kind,  gentle  way,  laid 
her  hand  upon  the  shoulder  of  the  young  man, 
saying:  "John,  I  know  how  your  mother  prays  for 
you,  and  now  we  will  join  her."  The  gun  was 
laid  down,  the  tears  of  contrition  began  to  flow, 
and  as  they  left  they  said :  "  You  are  brave,  good 
Christian  women,  and  we  thank  you  for  your  in- 
terest in  us." 

Two  brave  Crusaders  from  Wilmington,  Mrs. 
Farquhar  and  Mrs.  Clevenger,  had  dared  the 
worst  weather  that  has  ever  been  known  in  this 
region,  to  come  over  and  help  in  celebrating  our 
twenty-third;  they  gave  very  earnest  words  of 
sympathy  and  cheer,  and  enlivened  the  meeting 
by  some  of  the  incidents  of  their  work,  which 


154  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

was  so  successful  that  for  months  they  rejoiced  in 
having  no  open  door  to  destruction  in  their  midst. 

Two  earnest  Presbyterian  sisters  gave  won- 
derful testimony  to  the  power  of  the  Spirit  upon 
their  hearts  during  those  days  of  prayer  and 
sacrifice. 

Mrs.  Stephenson  said  the  "  sword  of  the 
Spirit"  had  severed  from  her  soul  (through  the 
influence  of  the  Crusade)  that  formality  of  serv- 
ice which  for  years  had  enslaved  her  spirit  and 
fettered  her  tongue,  so  as  to  cause  a  lifeless, 
dumb  service ;  that  she  had  been  delivered  from 
the  fear  of  the  world,  and  had  ever  since  rejoiced 
in  the  will  of  her  Heavenly  Father,  and  contin- 
ually upon  her  heart  was  the  psalm  of  joy, 
"  Praise  ye  the  Lord." 

Mrs.  Hllifritz  gave  a  most  thrilling  account  of 
the  struggles  that  she  endured  with  her  own 
spirit  when  she  first  went  out  with  the  Cru- 
saders— lifetime  usages,  the  rules  and  forms  of 
her  own  Church,  which  in  the  past,  she  claimed, 
had  not  brought  out  the  latent  spiritual  power  of 
woman.  Finally,  after  a  sore  and  prolonged  bat- 
tle with  the  powers  of  darkness,  the  Spirit  set  her 
free,  since  which  time  she  had  been  free  indeed. 

Mrs.  Hart,  wife  of  Mr.  Alphonso  Hart,  who 
was  one  of  our  most  earnest  and  liberal  workers, 
always  counting  "sacrifice  "  a  portion  of  "service," 
gave  a  talk  this  morning  that  appeared  to  set  the 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES,  155 

calendar  back  a  decade ;  for  the  tongues  of  fire 
that  rested  upon  the  original  band  seemed  again 
visible.  Mrs.  D.  K.  Fenner  (first  secretary)  also 
proved  the  undying  nature  of  this  zeal  for  God 
and  humanity. 

Mrs.  Rev.  McSurely  brought  out  a  very 
noticeable  feature  of  our  work  as  Crusaders  in 
the  relation  of  an  incident  that  occurred  just  as 
we  were  forming  in  line  for  the  march  to  the 
street,  on  our  way  to  do  God's  work.  Some  one 
said :  "  Why,  Mrs.  Thompson,  are  we  really  going 
to  sing  and  pray  in  the  saloons  ?"  The  answer 
was:  "We  don't  know  what  we  will  do;  God 
will  lead  and  guide  us." 

To  have  heard  the  experiences  of  these  good 
women  on  this  "  decennial  anniversary  "  morning 
would  have  proved  to  the  most  doubting  minds 
that  the  Crusade  movement  was  from  God,  and 
that  the  purifying  and  quickening  influence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  was  one  of  its  seals, 

Indeed  it  was  a  wonderful  meeting,  one  long 
to  be  remembered ;  and  with  glad  hearts  we  raised 
at  this  decade  our  Ebenezer,  and  sang  together 
with  the  sisterhood  of  all  lands,  warmed  by  the 
same  fire,  "Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds."  Again 
we  set  forth  with  the  "sword  of  the  Spirit  in 
hand,"  putting  on  anew  the  whole  armor  of  God, 
resolved  to  battle  with  renewed  zeal  and  courage 
"for  God,  and  home,  and  every  land." 


156  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 


XX. 

THE  unexpected  changes  in  the  tenor  of  the 
Woman's  Christian  temperance  work,  at 
the  different  eras  of  the  dispensation  that  came 
upon  them  December,  1873,  afford  proof  positive 
of  the  divinity  of  its  origin.  No  finite  mind 
could  have  inspired  the  persistence  and  guided 
the  ever-varied  tactics  developed  in  this  society 
of  women,  young  and  old,  having  its  origin  in 
the  simple  faith  that  God  would  do  for  them 
what  they  could  not  do  for  themselves,  if  they 
would  obey  his  voice  and  walk  according  to  the 
leadings  of  his  spirit. 

When  the  time  came  in  our  town  for  the  Cru- 
saders to  decide  upon  a  change  of  policy  regard- 
ing their,  temperance  work,  special  prayer  was 
resorted  to,  and  passages  of  Scripture,  as  definitely 
as  the  "pillar  of  fire  by  night  and  of  cloud  by 
day,"  directed  them.  The  zeal  of  the  women 
sought  new  outlets;  speakers  of  note  and  influ- 
ence from  abroad  were  invited,  and  series  of 
meetings  held,  causing  an  increase  of  interest  in 
the  community;  and  the  constancy  with  which 
the  regular  weekly  services  were  persevered  in 
silenced  all  doubts  as  to  the  stability  of  the  cause 
or  the  intentions  of  "these  invincible  women!" 

About  the  time  of  "the  Week  of  Prayer,"  1888, 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  157 

it  was  resolved  by  the  members  of  the  Union  to 
invite  Mrs.  Romick,  of  Ohio,  for  a  week  of  tem- 
perance and  gospel  work  in  our  town.  Measures 
were  at  once  set  in  motion,  and  on  March  20, 
1888,  she  came  to  us,  as  our  secretary,  Mrs.  E. 
L.  Warson,  happily  expressed  it,  "with  a  heart 
filled  with  love  for  God  and  humanity,  and  ready 
for  work  in  his  cause."  The  result  was,  many 
were  benefited  and  our  Union  was  built  up  and 
strengthened.  Her  sweet,  humble  Christian  spirit 
will  long  be  remembered  among  our  people. 

Mothers'  meetings  had  become  a  favorite  fea- 
ture of  our  work,  conducted  at  first  by  Mrs.  E. 
J.  Patterson,  a  zealous  worker  in  many  depart- 
ments, and  presided  over  afterwards  by  Mrs. 
Bridwell. 

But,  as  is  always  the  case,  some  one  person 
must  be  responsible  for  the  outcome  of  such  extra 
services,  and  that  person  must  have  a  special  gift 
and  preparation.  After  our  dear  Mrs.  Bridwell 
left  us  for  favored  Harriman,  the  mothers'  meet- 
ings became  a  thing  of  the  past.  But  we  are 
trusting  and  believing  that  God  will  open  the 
way  for  its  revival. 

The  ist  of  February,  1887,  the  ministers  of 
the  town,  the  "Murphy  Men,"  the  "Young 
Men's  League,"  and  other  good  temperance 
voters,  circulated  a  petition  asking  the  Common 
Council  to  provide  for  a  special  election,  at  which 


I  58  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

the  electors  of  the  city  might  be  granted  the  priv- 
ilege of  voting  for  or  against  the  liquor-traffic 
under  the  local-option  clause  of  the  u  Dow  Law." 

Two  hundred  signatures  of  qualified  voters 
were  obtained,  and  the  petition  was  presented  on 
February  yth.  The  City  Council  at  first  refused 
to  grant  the  petition ;  but  under  strong  pressure 
of  public  sentiment  this  action  was  reconsidered, 
and  the  election  set  for  March  14,  1887. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union  upon  Monday,  February  2ist, 
after  most  earnest  devotional  exercises,  the  sub- 
ject of  so  much  interest  took  possession  of  all 
hearts,  and  questions  of  aid  without  hindering 
caused  much  anxious  discussion.  Finally  it  was 
proposed  that  the  ladies  should  furnish  a  free 
lunch,  to  be  served  in  the  City  Hall,  above  the 
voting  place  on  election-day,  provided  the  lead- 
ing temperance  men  approved  the  plan.  Another 
general  meeting  of  the  women  was  appointed  to 
be  held  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  on 
the  following  Saturday  afternoon,  March  5th, 
and  a  general  invitation  issued  to  the  ladies  of 
the  county  to  join  them. 

The  committee  in  power  (of  men),  through 
the  committee  of  ladies  appointed  at  a  former 
meeting  to  confer  with  them,  signified  their 
thanks  and  hearty  approval.  At  once  the  women 
set  their  hospitable  designs  to  work  by  the  ap- 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  159 

pointment  of  five  most  efficient  workers  as  a 
"  committee  of  trust,"  as  to  them  was  assigned 
the  important  obligation  of  selecting  the  serving 
committee,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  serve  the 
tables  at  the  hours  assigned  during  the  day,  from 
9  o'clock  A.  M.  to  5  P.  M. 

A  meeting  of  citizens  of  all  faiths,  religious 
and  political,  was  called  for  Saturday  evening  the 
26th,  in  City  Hall,  by  the  ministers  of  all  the 
Churches  and  the  signatures  of  thirty-three 
prominent  citizens.  This  meeting  was  held  in 
the  parlor  of  the  Young  Men's  League,  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  on  the  evening  of 
the  22d;  and,  by  the  way,  this  association  of  non- 
partisan,  non-sectarian  young  men  formed  a  most 
hopeful  feature  of  our  community.  They  owed 
their  origin  to  the  zeal  and  conservative  spirit  of 
the  Rev.  Davis  W.  Clark,  son  of  Bishop  Clark 
(deceased),  and  pastor  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  this  place  at  that  time.  He  took  a 
most  active  part  in  this  contest,  and  was  urged  to 
write  up  the  marvelous  victory  for  prohibition  in 
this  Crusade  town.  From  his  account  of  things 
we  make  some  quotations  for  the  benefit  of  those 
interested. 

Speaking  of  the  meeting  that  was  held  on 
Saturday,  ev  ing,  February  26th,  in  City  Hall, 
he  says:  "Hon.  J.  H.  Thompson  was  called  to 
the  chair.  To  him  belongs  the  honor,  not  only 


160  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

of  making  an  admirable  opening  address,  but  of 
having  uttered  a  prophecy  of  victory,  which  had 
literal  fulfillment.  Dr.  W.  J.  McSurely,  of  Cru- 
sade fame,  followed  in  a  forcible  speech."  An 
Executive  Committee  was  appointed  to  have 
charge  of  the  campaign.  Mass-meetings  now 
followed  in  quick  succession,  and  were  sustained 
by  the  best  talent  of  this  and  neighboring  com- 
munities. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  loth,  by  invitation  of 
the  men's  Executive  Committee,  the  Young  Men's 
League  held  a  remarkable  meeting  in  Armory 
Hall.  Over  one  hundred  young  men  fell  into 
line,  and,  with  J.  M.  Hughy  for  captain,  and  to 
•  the  inspiring  tap  of  the  drum-corps,  they  paraded 
the  streets.  This  demonstration  produced  a  pro- 
found sensation.  It  seemed  a  mute  but  eloquent 
appeal.  They  were  the  class  most  endangered 
by  the  existence  of  the  saloon.  When  the  brave 
"League  boys"  filed  into  the  hall  and  took  the 
seats  reserved  for  them,  they  received  a  perfect 
ovation  from  the  immense  audience. 

On  the  Sabbath  preceding  the  election  the 
pulpits  rang  out  with  no  uncertain  sound.  Rev. 
I.  W.  Joyce,  D.  D.  (since  bishop),  arrived  from 
Cincinnati  on  Saturday  evening,  by  special  in- 
vitation, and  as  the  News  Herald  has  it,  "  He 
preached  on  the  subject  of  temperance  at  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  both  morning  and 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  l6l 

evening,  and  talked  on  the  same  subject  at 
Armory  Hall  in  the  afternoon.  He  was  greeted 
with  immense  and  enthusiastic  audiences  at  each 
meeting.  Rev.  Davis  W.  Clark  says : 

"Our  movement  was  pre-eminently  religious.  The 
affair  had  its  inception  in  a  meeting  of  ministers  and 
under  the  roof  of  a  church.  All  public  meetings  opened 
with  prayer,  and  closed  with  doxology  and  benediction. 
It  was  a  minister's  voice  in  the  closing  hours  of  our 
struggle  that  called  into  line  the  last  straggler.  The 
cry  of  the  Crusade  may  not  have  been  audibly  uttered, 
but  it  certainly  kept  ringing  in  the  conscience,  '  The 
Lord  wills  it.'  The  spontaneous  praise  service  was  an 
appropriate  conclusion  to  the  campaign. 

"Any  account  of  our  recent  struggle  omitting  to 
mention  the  share  of  the  consecrated  women  in  it, 
would  be  sadly  defective.  They  did  everything  but 
vote.  They  made  personal  appeals,  and  were  instant  in 
prayer. 

"  The  local  Union  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union  formed  a  happy  nucleus,  around  which 
the  elect  ladies  gathered,  thus  again  proving  itself  a 
providential  agency.  Next  to  the  Church  we  esteem 
the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  the  most 
thoroughly-organized  and  efficient  philanthropic  society 
of  our  times." 

A  continuous  prayer-meeting,  March  14, 1887, 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  held  in 
support  of  the  efforts  at  the  polls,  and  the  lunch 
at  the  City  Hall  was  free  to  all  voters!  Of  this 


1 62  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

meeting  our  secretary,  Mrs.   Maggie  L.  Gregg, 
says: 

"There  was  a  Presence  whose  manifestations  and  in- 
fluence could  be  felt  upon  entering  the  room.  The 
'  God  of  Jacob '  in  whom  the  old  Crusaders  trusted,  and 
into  whose  ear  the  prayers  of  thousands  of  women 
have  been  received  in  the  past  thirteen  years,  was 
there,  whispering  the  assuring  words :  '  Said  I  not,  if 
thou  wouldst  believe  thou  shouldst  see  the  glory  of 
God?' " 

The  polls  closed  at  five  o'clock,  and  as  we 
lingered  to  hear  the  last  report,  it  was  proposed 
that  when  our  victory  should  be  assured,  the  bells 
must  ring  out  the  praise  of  God,  beginning  with 
a  few  taps  from  the  bell  of  the  "Old  Crusade 
Church!"  As  the  crowd  dispersed,  an  announce- 
ment was  made  by  the  ministers  for  a  praise- 
meeting  at  7.30  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  And  thus  the  hilariousness  of  the  peo- 
ple found  a  glorious  channel  in  songs  of  victory 
and  prayers  of  thanksgiving. 


XXI. 

FROM  the  time  of  the  Dow  Law  victory,  March 
14,  1887,  little  occurred  of  special  interest 
in  the  Crusade  work  of  Hillsboro.     Everything 
tended  to  a  well-defined  battle    between   good 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  163 

laws  and  bad  execution  on  the  part  of  the  com- 
munity of  voters  and  their  officers, — a  battle  in 
which  women  were  powerless ;  but  gospel  tem- 
perance meetings  were  continued,  the  children 
were  not  forgotten,  temperance  literature  was 
distributed,  the  prisoners  were  visited,  and  the 
weekly  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union 
prayer-meetings  were  never  omitted. 

At  one  of  these  services,  about  the  i2th  of 
September,  1887,  it  was  intimated  that  a  car- 
riage was  at  the  door  awaiting  me  for  a  service 
that  required  my  attention,  quite  out  of  town. 
In  my  absence  the  meeting  was  continued, 
and  a  secret  plan  was  formed  for  celebrating 
the  coming  anniversary  of  our  Golden  Wedding. 
The  Rev.  Davis  W.  Clark  was  foremost  in  aid- 
ing the  ladies  in  developing  this  plan.  The 
story  of  this  occasion  will  be  found,  as  told  by 
our  former  secretary,  Mrs.  D.  K.  Fenner,  in  the 
chapter  contributed  by  my  daughter,  Marie  T. 
Rives;  but  I  may  be  permitted  here  to  say  of 
this  beautiful  occasion,  that  it  remains  to  my 
husband  and  myself  one  of  the  most  cherished 
memories  of  our  lives.  Having  just  passed  the 
"golden  milestone,"  and  having  served  our  local 
Union  for  thirteen  years  as  president,  I  began  to 
feel  that  a  younger  woman  might  be  more 
efficient. 

My  resignation  was  referred  to  a  committee 


164  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

(Mrs.  Rev.  W.  J.  McSurely  and  Mrs.  Maggie  L,. 
Gregg),  who  replied  as  follows  : 

"Your  committee,  to  whom  was  submitted  Mrs. 
Thompson's  request  that  she  be  released  from  the  presi- 
dency of  our  local  Union,  would  respectfully  submit : 
That  we  do  not  consider  Mrs.  Thompson  'superannu- 
ated ;'  that,  although  often  prevented  from  meeting  with 
us,  yet  when  she  is  present  we  do  not  perceive  that  her 
natural  force  is  abated ;  and  we  know  that  we  but 
voice  the  feeling  of  all  in  saying  that  we  most  earnestly 
desire  that  she,  who  first  led  us  out  in  this  work,  may 
continue  to  be  our  president  for  many  years  to  come. 
We  submit  this,  not  as  a  mere  sentiment,  but  from  a 
conviction  that  we  are  doing  what  is  best  for  our  Union. 
Feeling  that  God  called  Mrs.  Thompson  to  be  our 
leader,  we  await  a  clearer  indication  of  Providence  that 
another  is  to  take  her  place. 

"In  the  mean  time,  during  her  absence  from  us,  we 
recognize  another  leader  in  our  first  vice-president,  Mrs. 
Hart,  and  we  will  faithfully  stand  by  her." 

The  matter  being  thus  adjusted,  Mrs.  Hart, 
with  her  usual  energy  and  earnestness,  prepared 
an  appeal  to  the  mayor  and  Council  of  our 
town,  and,  accompanied  by  Mesdames  Foraker, 
McSurely,  Murray,  Smith,  Gregg,  Langley,  Brid- 
well,  Patterson,  Willett,  Stevenson,  and  McCon- 
naughy,  delivered  it  at  the  set  time,  and  was 
sustained  by  two  of  the  councilmen,  Dr.  Patter- 
son and  Mr.  McNichol,  with  eloquent  and  ear- 
nest speeches  favoring  their  wishes.  Mrs.  Hart's 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  165 

appeal  is  worth   reading,   notwithstanding    the 
majority  was  against  us  : 

"To  the  Hon.  Mayor  and  Council  of  Hillsboro: 

"It  is  claimed  that  the  ordinance  prohibiting  the 
sale  of  intoxicating  liquor  in  our  town  is  but  a  dead 
letter  upon  our  statute-books,  and  feeling  aggrieved 
that  this  is  so,  we,  the  women  of  Hillsboro,  through  the 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  come  to  you  with 
an  earnest  appeal  to  see  to  it  that  it  be  enforced.  Nearly 
two  years  ago  this  ordinance  was  asked  for  by  more 
than  two-thirds  of  our  voters,  and  by  our  united  voice. 
It  was  placed  upon  our  statute-books,  not  as  a  pastime, 
not  as  empty  words,  but  to  be  enforced  just  as  any 
law,  and,  as  affecting  our  interests  more  than  any  law, 
you  are  asked  to  enforce,  as  by  its  non-enforcement  our 
homes,  our  happiness,  and  the  souls  of  our  loved  ones 
are  placed  in  jeopardy.  The  voters,  who  asked  its 
adoption,  expected  you,  as  sworn  officers  of  the  law,  to 
enforce  it.  We  hear  it  said  that  the  ordinance  is  a 
failure.  We  grant  that  its  enforcement  has  been  a 
failure,  but  the  ordinance  is  right,  and  right  can  not  be 
wrong.  It  may  need  revision  to  make  it  more  effective, 
and  we  pray  your  honorable  body  to  do  this.  Can  you 
turn  a  deaf  ear  to  our  appeal  ?  We  also  ask  that  you 
make  an  appropriation  of  money  sufficient  to  enable 
our  officers  to  execute  the  law. 

"On  behalf  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union  of  Hillsboro,  Ohio,  MRS.  Gov.  HART, 

"Acting  Pres.,  First  Vice-Pres. 
H.  HARSHA,  Secretary" 


All  this  effort  on  the  part  of  the  temperance 
women  and  their  friends  so  stirred  up  matters, 


1 66  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES, 

that  the  "  powers  that  be"  determined  to  enforce 
the  "tax"  part  of  the  "Dow  Law,"  and  let  them 
sell  on,  as  they  had  been  doing  (without  paying 
for  the  "  privilege  ").  With  the  money  thus  col- 
lected our  streets,  "so  wide  and  airy,"  were  vig- 
orously macadamized,  and  thus,  while  the  tempted 
ones  were  drawn  into  the  "open  doors,"  the 
"  very  rocks  were  crying  out "  against  "  those 
people  who  love  to  have  it  so."  "And  what  will 
ye  do  in  the  end  thereof?"  has  been  asked,  not 
only  by  the  prophet,  but  by  many  aching  hearts, 
since  that  day,  for  "at  last  it  stingeth  like  an 
adder,"  even  "our  enemies  themselves  being 
judges." 

XXII. 

•nEBRUARY  27,  1889,  Mrs.  Hart  suggested  a 
.T  temperance  dinner  by  the  Woman's  Chris- 
tian Temperance  Union,  as  one  had  not  been 
given  for  some  time,  and  the  treasury  was  get- 
ting low.  Ample  preparations  were  made,  and, 
March  ad,  the  dinner  was  given  in  the  city 
hall.  It  was  well  patronized,  and  gave  great 
satisfaction ;  but,  best  of  all,  it  left  a  good  impres- 
sion, socially  as  well  as  financially. 

The  family  and  large  connection  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  H.  S.  Foraker  had  planned  so  quietly  and 
successfully  in  their  preparations  for  their  fiftieth 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  167 

anniversary  of  the  wedding-day,  that  the  Wo- 
man's Christian  Temperance  Union  came  very 
near  being  excluded;  but  the  secret  was  found 
out  in  time  to  send  the  following:  An  exquisite 
banneret  in  white  and  gold,  from  the  co-workers 
of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union, 
with  the  inscription: 

2839.  1889. 

Golden  Wedding. 

Congratulations 

from 
The  W.  C.  T.  U.  of  Hillsboro, 

to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  S.  Foraker. 

May  each  coming  milestone  of  life's  journey  prove 
a  fresh  Ebenezer  until  the  golden  gate  is  reached! 

For  our  dear  sister  of  Crusade  memory  the  words  of 
the  Master  seem  most  fitting : 

"O  woman,  great  is  thy  faith!" 

About  this  time  it  was  the  pleasure  of  our 
Union  to  respond  to  the  call  of  Miss  Pugh,  na- 
tional treasurer,  and  send  our  contribution  and 
loving  sentiments  to  Frances  E.  Willard,  the  one 
we  all  "  delighted  to  honor,"  and  especially  as 
she  approached  the  end  of  her  "fifty  successful 
years." 

From  the  minutes  we  find  that  "a  memorial 
service  in  honor  of  the  late  Mrs.  Hayes  was 
held  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  under 


1 68  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

the  direction  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union.  Mrs.  Thompson  presided,  Dr. 
McSurely  read  the  Scriptures,  and  Rev.  King,  of 
the  Baptist  Church,  led  in  prayer.  The  remarks 
of  Mrs.  Thompson  were  very  appropriate  and 
touching,  and  she  paid  a  fine  tribute  to  Ex- 
President  Hayes  for  his  loyalty  to  his  wife  in 
supporting  her  in  her  heroic  stand  for  sobriety 
in  the  White  House.  Mrs.  Hart  and  Mrs.  Mur- 
ray read  very  excellent  papers,  and  Mrs.  Rives 
gave  a  thoughtful  and  happily-worded  address. 
Mrs.  D.  S.  Ferguson  read  an  original  poem,  and 
Mrs.  Wm.  Gregg  read  a  poem  prepared  by  Mr. 
J.  L.  Boardman.  The  whole  affair  was  most 
happily  conceived  and  carried  out.  The  papers, 
addresses,  and  poems  were  in  excellent  taste, 
and  show  a  tender  appreciation  of  the  noble 
Christian  woman,  whose  courage  and  truth  have 
entitled  her  to  the  respect  and  love  of  the  Chris- 
tian world.  The  services  were  closed  with  the 
benediction  by  Rev.  Murray." 

The  semi-annual  meeting  of  the  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union  of  Highland 
County  was  held  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  this  place,  May,  1889.  Delegates  were 
present  from  five  Unions  in  the  county,  and  were 
welcomed  by  Mrs.  Dr.  McSurely  in  behalf  of  the 
Hillsboro  Union. 

Mrs.  Caroline  B.  Buell,  national  correspond- 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  169 

ing  secretary,  was  with  us  by  invitation,  and 
addressed  a  large  evening  meeting  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  and  also  led  a  very 
profitable  service  on  the  following  morning  in 
the  old  Crusade  Church.  She  gave  much  satis- 
faction, and  with  many  of  our  citizens  is  a  stand- 
ing favorite. 

Mrs.  Alphonso,  Hart  at  this  Convention  re- 
signed her  office  as  county  president,  much  to 
the  regret  of  all  parties  interested,  her  husband, 
Hon.  Alphonso  Hart,  having  been  appointed  to 
an  office  that  required  the  removal  of  his  family 
to  Washington,  D.  C.  We  were  deprived  also 
of  her  services  in  our  local  work;  this  we  felt  a 
very  great  loss.  Mrs.  McSurely  was  appointed 
vice-president  in  Mrs.  Hart's  place  from  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  Mrs.  Mary  B.  Murray, 
first  vice-president  from  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  for  the  local  Union. 

About  this  time,  November  23,  1889,  Mr. 
George  Woodford,  of  national  fame,  came  by  in- 
vitation of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union,  to  give  Hillsboro  a  week  of  his  temper- 
ance zeal  and  eloquence.  Much  good  resulted; 
but  as  our  secretary,  Mrs.  Charles  Harsha,  says 
in  her  minutes,  "We  can  never  know  the  result 
Mr.  Woodford's  meetings  until  we  all  meet  at 
the  judgment  seat  where  the  men  and  youths  of 
this  town  must  face  the  God  of  justice,  in  the 


170  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

presence  of  the  man  who  tried  so  hard  to  save 
them  from  a  fate  worse  than  death." 

Mrs.  Mary  B.  Murray,  president  of  the  Y's  and 
a  kind  and  efficient  aid  to  the  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union,  was  about  this  time,  Decem- 
ber i,  1889,  induced,  at  the  earnest  request  of  Mrs. 
E.  J.  Thompson,  to  accept  the  position  of  presi- 
dent pro  tern,  during  a  season  of  severe  illness  in 
her  family.  Thus  seconded  by  her  good  husband, 
Rev.  James  Murray,  pastor  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  when  the  bugle-note  from  our 
chieftain,  Miss  Willard,  sounded  the  call  for  a 
"Crusade  camp-fire"  in  Hillsboro,  December 
23,  1889,  to  celebrate  the  fifteenth  anniversary, 
they  were  "  willing "  and  earnest,  and,  together 
with  other  faithful  and  tried  White  Ribboners  in 
the  Crusade  town  and  the  State,  the  work  moved 
forward. 

The  "camp-fire"  of  December,  1889,  at  the 
"Old  Fort"  of  the  Crusade,  was  a  vigorous 
demonstration,  and  at  this  late  day  memory 
seems  to  bring  out  in  clear-cut  outline  our  dear 
chieftain,  with  her  inspiring  presence  and  "won- 
derful words."  Miss  Elizabeth  Scoville,  whose 
"Bible-readings"  are  still  treasured  as  inspired 
and  helpful  through  so  many  years,  was  here 
from  her  Southern  home,  and  Anna  Gordon,  the 
beloved  "indispensable,"  whom  our  children  love 
to  remember.  Then  we  had  the  faithful  Sunday 


HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES.  1 71 

Observance  National  Superintendent  Mrs.  Ba- 
teum;  also  Mrs.  Peters,  the  generous  donor  of  the 
beautiful  and  useful  "  Crusade  Bible-case."  But 
the  executive  power  behind  the  throne  (and  often 
upon  it)  was  our  own  unselfish  State  president, 
Mrs.  Monroe.  She  came  to  our  rescue  with  wise 
plans,  and  being,  with  Mrs.  Clevenger,  State  cor- 
responding secretary,  guests  of  Rev.  and  Mrs. 
Murray,  they  combined,  with  our  own  workers, 
to  make  the  occasion  equal  to  Miss  Willard's 
highest  anticipations. 

These  retrospective  views  are  instructive;  but 
what  shall  we  say  of  the  "  harvest "  which  is  now 
"white  for  the  reapers;"  of  the  noble  English 
woman  of  titled  distinction,  whose  heart  hath 
been  touched,  to  bring  in  such  rich  grain  and 
stately  sheaves  for  the  Master?  The  tender  asso- 
ciation that  exists  between  our  own  Frances  E. 
Willard  and  Lady  Henry  Somerset,  to  my  mind, 
is  a  sure  indication  of  God's  special  care  and 
helpfulness  in  the  "battle"  that  is  "not  ours," 
but  "Zfo." 

I,  who  sit  and  watch,  in  my  eightieth  year,  the 
work  going  on  in  this  great  "  harvest-field,"  and 
catch  glimpses  of  inspiration  from  the  "  white 
ribbons "  that  gleam  "  around  the  world,"  and 
especially  across  the  ocean  blue,  at  the  great 
London  Convention,  feel  my  grasp  loosen  upon 
the  busy  laborers ;  yet  quietly  and  peacefully 


172  HILLSBORO  CRUSADE  SKETCHES. 

the  faith  that  inspired  and  has  sustained  this 
movement,  which  is  "  not  of  ourselves  but  the 
gift  of  God,"  grows  more  steadfast  in  the  ulti- 
mate result — of  self-sacrifice  and  sobriety. 


IV. 


MY  MOTHER'S  YEARS  APPROACHING  LIFE'S 

SUNSET. 

173 


IV. 

MY  MOTHER'S  YEARS  APPROACHING  LIFE'S 

SUNSET. 

"  Faces  looking  into  the  sunset  are  golden." 

— F.  W.  FABER. 

write  of  the  years  of  one  who  descends 
1  the  hill  of  life  as  gracefully  and  bravely  as 
my  mother,  is  a  theme  for  a  more  capable  pen 
than  mine;  but  the  daughter's  hand  that  so  often 
placed  the  "  old  arm-chair,"  that  in  pride  arranged 
the  fleecy  white  becoming  cap  and  graceful  shawl; 
the  heart  that  always  throbbed  in  sympathy  with 
the  "  White  Ribbon,"  and  had  cozy,  loving  chats 
over  the  fireside  about  home  interests,  and  do- 
mestic occupations,  is  perhaps  the  one  to  follow 
her  gently  down  life's  decline.  We  often  said 
to  each  other,  too, 

"  So  many  links  have  softly 

Dropped  from  sight, 
So  many  names  are  now  in 
Sadness  spoken, — names 

Once  so  bright." 

The  beginning  of  my  mother's  approaching 
sunset  years  brought  me  to  a  period  in  my  own 


176  My  MOTHERS  YEARS 

life  when  bereavement  caused  me  to  change 
homes,  and  return  a  widow  to  reside  with  and 
assist  my  parents  during  their  declining  years. 
Mother  had  lived  through  many  sorrows  and  be- 
reavements of  her  eventful  life,  and  my  heart 
often  found  solace  in  her  love  and  tender 
sympathy. 

Years  had  passed  since  she  led  the  heroic 
temperance  band  forward  that  bleak  winter 
morning,  in  Hillsboro,  Ohio  (December  23, 
1873),  an^  broke  the  snow  and  ice,  not  only  of 
weather,  but  also  public  opinion,  and  inaugu- 
rated the  Ohio  Woman's  Crusade, — 

"  That  pleading  voice  rose  calm  and  sweet 

From  woman's  earnest  tongue, 
And  Riot  turned  her  scowling  glance, 
Awed  from  her  tranquil  countenance." 

The  "sober  after-thought"  of  this  great 
movement  had  crystallized  into  the  "  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union,"  and  mother's 
temperance  work  now  was  the  presidency  of  the 
Hillsboro  Union,  attending  National  and  State 
Conventions,  a  correspondence  in  all  parts  of  our 
own  and  other  countries  with  the  temperance 
workers,  and  the  highest  work  her  prayers  for 
the  cause  and  the  laborers. 

Neither  my  mother's  face,  manner,  nor  dispo- 
sition had  changed  much  to  me  with  the  flight 


APPROACHING  LIFE'S  SUNSET.  177 

of  years.  My  earliest  recollection  of  her  was  that 
she  was  very  cheerful,  and  I  thought  beautiful. 
She  had  to  me  a  poetic  face,  something  like  Mrs. 
Sigourney's — such  soft  brown  eyes  and  lovely 
curls.  I  remember  once,  when  I  was  a  young 
girl  away  from  home  (and  I  suspect  home-sick), l 
I  purchased  a  beautiful  jewel,  and  searched  in 
vain  for  the  "gold-stone"  that  looked  like 
mother's  eyes,  which  the  jeweler  failed  to  find 
to  my  satisfaction.  My  sketch  is  only  a  brief  re. 
cital  of  a  few  incidents  of  a  remarkable  descent 
of  life.  Mother  would  shrink  from  allowing  the 
world  to  know  her  best  attributes  and  most  un- 
selfish acts;  but  when  her  "works  follow  her," 
many  appreciative  pens  will  call  her  "blessed." 
The  old  home  which  had  been  the  residence 
of  my  parents,  Judge  and  Mrs.  Thompson,  since 
their  removal  from  "  Dewy  Lawn,"  my  father's 
beautiful  residence  in  my  childhood,  was  an  in- 
heritance of  my  mother  from  her  father,  Gov- 
ernor Trimble,  having  been  her  parents'  home, 
and  built  by  her  father. 

"  More  dear,  as  years  on  years  advance, 
We  prize  the  old  inheritance, 
And  feel,  as  far  and  wide  we  roam, 
That  all  we  seek  we  have  at  home." 

It  had  all  the  old  landmarks  when  I  returned 
again  to  it,  and  the  combination  of  my  furniture, 
pictures,  rugs,  and  smaller  treasures  added  com- 


178  MY  MOTHER'S  YEARS 

fort  and  beauty  to  the  rooms,  already  handsomely 
furnished  with  old-time  and  modern  furniture. 
Partly  from  taste,  and  also  for  convenience,  my 
parents  selected  for  their  room  the  back  parlor  with 
a  northern  view  and  indoor  passage-way  to  the 
dining-room ;  for  the  old  home  was  built  with 
the  general  entrance  to  the  dining-room  from  a 
southern  porch,  and  although  in  the  summer  the 
view,  the  vines,  and  the  green  grass  made  it 
charming,  when  the  winter  storms  came,  delicate 
persons  needed  cloaks,  and  indeed  sometimes 
umbrellas  had  a  mission;  and  only  that  we  knew 
in  the  Southern  States,  the  kitchens  were  some- 
times so  far  removed  from  the  house  that  the 
hot  buckwheat  cakes  were  carried  on  horseback 
to  the  dining-room,  could  we  feel  our  architecture 
had  made  wonderful  strides.  But  the  lack  of 
convenience  in  the  old  home  was  more  than 
atoned  for  by  the  large,  hospitable  halls  and 
rooms,  and  by  the  sacred  memories  and  echo  of 
silent  footsteps,  which  made  the  old  Southern 
porch  especially  dear;  for  all  loved  it.  The  little 
birds  sang  their  first  sweet  spring  carols  near  its 
low  windows,  and  sought  shelter  from  the  win- 
ter storms  in  the  bushes  near  the  dining-room 
door.  There  had  been  much  hospitality  in  all 
the  years  past  in  the  old  home,  but,  as  the  years 
of  my  mother's  life  increased,  came  bereave- 
ments in  quick  succession,  oftentimes  also  fam- 


APPROACHING  LIFE'S  SUNSET.  Ijg 

ily  illness,  curtailing  the  usual  entertainments; 
but  the  latch-string  was  always  out,  and  a  guest 
was  no  innovation. 

That  my  father's  charming  sisters  could  so 
seldom  visit  Hillsboro  of  late  years  has  been  a 
family  regret,  and  a  cherished  memory  is  the 
last  visit  of  Mrs.  Maria  Daviess,  with  her 
daughter  Anna;  my  father's  sister,  and  school- 
mate in  youth  f  of  whose  talent  Kentucky  is  so 
proud,  whose  heart  is  as  gentle  as  the  south 
wind,  and  whose  face  is  also  turned  to  the 
golden  sunset. 

Among  the  guests  at  the  old  home,  none  af- 
forded my  mother  more  pleasure  than  Miss 
Frances  E.  Willard  and  charming  Miss  Anna 
Gordon.  They  visited  us  several  times  in  the  in- 
terests of  their  work,  and  Miss  Willard  addressed 
large  temperance  audiences,  and  the  people  were 
permitted  to  hear  the  peer  of  woman  speakers. 
Mother  loved  to  call  Miss  Willard  her  dear 
daughter  and  leader ;  and  after  her  mother  passed 
to  the  "  Home  over  there,"  the  affectionate  ap- 
preciation was  even  more  dear  to  the  great  and 
good  and  lovely  woman,  the  leader  of  us  all. 
Other  prominent  temperance  workers  were  my 
mother's  guests, — the  lamented  Mrs.  Wood- 
bridge,  and  Ohio's  president,  Mrs.  Monroe;  and 
secretary,  Mrs.  Clevenger;  and  Mrs.  Perkins,  of 
Cleveland;  and  Mrs.  Hunt,  of  Boston ;  Mrs.  Yeo- 


180  MY  MOTHER'S  YEARS 

mans,  of  Canada, — all  so  dear  to  the  cause,  and 
heart  of  their  hostess.  I  was  the  only  child  at 
home  when  the  approaching  sunset  years  brought 
the  Golden  Wedding.  The  description  I  insert 
from  the  report  of  Mrs.  D.  K.  Fenner,  written 
for  the  Union  Signal. 

Let  our  first  secretary,  Mrs.  Mary  B.  Fenner, 
tell  the  story,  as  appointed  by  the  Hillsboro 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  for  the 
Union  Signal,  September  28,  1887 : 

"  Some  friendly  little  bird  having  whispered  that  the 
Golden  Wedding  was  at  hand,  the  idea  suggested  itself  to 
the  members  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union  that  here  was  a  fitting  and  delightful  opportunity 
of  testifying  their  affectionate  appreciation  of  Mrs. 
Thompson's  unflinching  devotion  to  the  cause,  typified 
in  all  its  ramifications  by  the  white  ribbon,  as  also  their 
personal  esteem  and  respect ;  the  outgrowth  of  thirteen 
years'  intercourse  and  companionship  in  the  work  of 
putting  down  intemperance,  during  all  of  which  time 
she  has  been  the  honored  president  of  the  local  Union. 

"  Ideas  soon  take  form  when  hands  and  hearts  work 
together,  and  in  a  few  days  little  white-winged  messen- 
gers were  flying  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land,  bidding  guests  to  the  Golden  Wedding. 

"The  list  of  invitations  included  the  Crusaders,  sign- 
ers of  the  Guarantee  Fund,  members  of  the  Hillsboro 
bar,  mayor  and  city  officials,  officers  of  the  Churches, 
the  Young  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  State 
presidents,  and  National  officers  of  the  W'oman's  Chris- 
tian Temperance  Union,  in  all  about  four  hundred 
and  fifty. 


APPROACHING  LIFE'S  SUNSET.  1 8 1 

"  The  reception  was  given  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  on  the  appointed  evening,  September  2ist, 
a  large  and  elegant  assemblage  gathered  in  the  audience- 
room.  Brave  men  and  fair  women  were  there,  but  the 
admiration  and  interest  of  all  the  goodly  company  were 
centered  on  the  little  bride  and  her  tall  and  still  hand- 
some husband. 

"  Seated  on  the  platform  with  Judge  and  Mrs.  Thomp- 
son were  Rev.  D.  W.  Clark,  pastor  of  the  Church ;  Rev. 
Dr.  Ketcham,  late  pastor  of  the  same;  Rev.  W.  J. 
McSurely,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church;  Mrs.  Monroe, 
president  of  the  State  Union ;  Mrs.  Clevenger,  corre- 
sponding secretary  of  the  same;  Mrs.  Hart,  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  local  Union,  and  several  of  the  older  mem- 
bers of  the  Union. 

"Rev.  W.  J.  McSurely,  who  presided  at  the  first  Cru- 
sade meeting,  occupied  the  chair  on  this  occasion.  His 
cordial  congratulations  were  responded  to  by  Judge 
Thompson  in  a  most  characteristic  speech,  genial,  po- 
etical, and  touching. 

"  Mrs.  Hart's  address  on  behalf  of  the  local  Union  was 
short,  but  gem-like  in  its  perfect  finish,  pure  color,  and 
chaste  setting. 

"  Mrs.  Henrietta  L.  Monroe,  of  Xenia,  president  of  the 
State  Union,  followed  in  an  address  of  rare  elegance, 
strength,  and  beauty.  She  gave  a  brief  outline  of  the 
origin  of  the  Crusade,  the  organization  of  the  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union,  and  its  present  widespread 
influence  and  working  power.  No  one  who  heard  her 
could  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  importance  and  in- 
fluence of  the  White-ribbon  organization,  and  of  the 
immensity  of  the  work  it  is  doing. 

"  Mrs.  Monroe  closed  with  a  touching  and  eloquent 
tribute  to  Mrs.  Thompson,  and  then  presented  to  her,  on 


1 82  MY  MOTHER'S  YEARS 

behalf  of  the  National  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union,  a  testimonial,  engrossed  in  gold  on  vellum,  and 
framed  in  gold  and  antique  oak.  The  reader  will  at  once 
recognize  Miss  Willard's  facile  pen : 

" '  1837-1887.  Headquarters  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union,  Chicago,  111.,  to  Mrs.  Eliza  Trimble 
Thompson,  of  Hillsboro,  Ohio,  leader  of  the  first  Praying 
Band  in  the  Woman's  Temperance  Crusade,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  her  Golden  Wedding,  September  21,  1887.' 

'"To  have  been  the  first  woman  who  ever  attended  a 
National  Temperance  Convention ;  to  have  led  the  pioneer 
band  in  that  heroic  movement  of  which  the  National  Wo- 
man's Christian  Temperance  Union  is  the  organic  form  ; 
to  have  made  Hillsboro  known  to  the  world  as  the  cradle 
of  the  Crusade  ;  to  have  impressed  your  name  upon  the 
history  of  your  country, — all  this  is  much ;  but  to  have 
worn  so  loyally  the  crown  of  daughter,  sister,  wife,  and 
mother ;  to  have  won  friends,  wherever  the  sacred  cause 
of  temperance  is  loved,  and  to  have  exhibited  in  public 
life  and  home's  sweet  ministries  a  faith 

"  That  when  in  darkness  knows  no  fear, 
In  danger  feels  no  doubt," 

is  more.  You  stand  upon  the  heights  of  answered 
prayer,  and  we,  your  comrades,  whom  your  unwavering 
cheerfulness  has  many  times  animated,  wave  to  you 
from  the  plain  and  thickest  of  the  fight  our 

"God  bless  you  and  yours  on  this  auspicious  day." 
"'IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  W.  C.  T.  U.,  ETC.'" 

"After  the  reading  of  this  testimonial,  Mrs.  Monroe 
unveiled  Ohio's  offering ;  at  the  sight  of  which  a  mur- 
mur of  delighted  surprise  ran  through  the  house.  It 
was  a  tall  urn,  Etruscan  in  shape,  of  gold  bronze,  ex- 


APPROACHING  LIFE'S  SUNSET.  183 

quisitely  chased  and  hammered.  Suspended  by  a  gold 
chain  from  the  handle  is  a  twenty-dollar  gold-piece, 
bearing  on  the  obverse  side  the  inscription,  '1837-1887, 
Mrs.  Eliza  J.  Thompson,  leader  of  the  Crusade,  from  the 
Ohio  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union.'  On  the 
reverse,  an  engraved  representation  of  the  Crusade 
Church  with  the  date  '  December  23,  1873.' 

"  Mrs.  Thompson's  response  to  these  tributes  of  loving 
congratulation  was  made  in  her  usual  quiet,  conversa- 
tional manner,  and  showed  her  appreciation  of  the  ova- 
tion given  her,  but  she  confessed  herself  dazed  and  be- 
wildered with  surprise,  and  said :  '  The  bride  should  not 
be  expected  to  do  too  much  at  the  wedding.' 

"  The  pastor  of  the  Church,  Rev.  D.  W.  Clark,  read  the 
congratulatory  telegrams.  They  had  come  from  nearly 
every  State  and  Territory  in  the  Union,  and  all  bore  most 
kindly  greetings. 

"At  the  close  of  these  formal  exercises  the  invited 
guests  repaired  to  the  lecture-room,  where  they  were 
seated  and  served  with  refreshments,  in  number  about 
one  hundred.  At  the  close  of  the  banquet,  Rev.  D.  W. 
Clark,  on  behalf  of  Mrs.  Marie  Thompson  Rives,  pre- 
sented to  the  Hillsboro  bar  a  full-length,  life-size  por- 
trait of  her  father.  It  was  unveiled  by  Mrs.  Sarah 
Thompson  Collins,  the  granddaughter  of  Judge  Thomp- 
son, and  accepted  on  behalf  of  the  bar  by  Hon.  Alphonso 
Hart,  in  a  pleasant,  cordial,  and  appropriate  speech. 

"Then  followed  the  reading  of  a  beautiful  poem  by 
J.  L.  Boardman,  Esq.,  an  address  and  reading  of  letters 
by  Mrs.  Antoinette  H.  Clevenger,  the  reading  of  letters 
from  former  pastors  and  presiding  elders,  and  more  tel- 
egrams. Among  the  gifts  were  noticeable  several  little 
satin  purses  of  blue  and  white,  on  which,  in  letters  of 
gold  were  the  words:  'Our  testimonial,  Maryland 


1 84  MY  MOTHER'S  YEARS 

W.  C.  T.  U.;'  'Our  testimonial,  New  Hampshire  W.  C. 
T.  U.;'  'Our  testimonial,  New  Jersey  W.  C.  T.  U.,' 
'  Our  testimonial,  Pastors  and  Elders,  Hillsboro  M.  E. 
Church;'  'Our  testimonial,  W.  C.  T.  U.'  These  con- 
tained (in  various  amounts — gold  pieces)  the  cash 
value  of  checks  sent  by  the  several  State  Unions  whose 
names  they  bear,  and  for  whom  the  time  was  too  short 
to  allow  of  sending  a  testimonial  in  any  other  form. 

"At  the  close  of  the  evening  many  old  friends,  one  of 
whom,  Judge  William  Meek,  had  been  a  guest  at  the 
first  wedding,  fifty  years  before,  pressed  forward  to  ex- 
press personally  to  Judge  and  Mrs.  Thompson  their  con- 
gratulations, and  wishes  for  both  a  long,  happy,  and  use- 
ful future." 

The  congratulations  and  gifts  of  many  rela- 
tives and  prominent  social  friends  were  received, 
none  more  appreciated  than  the  golden  lamp 
from  Mrs.  Rufus  King,  and  the  "  History  of 
Prussia,"  in  which  is  inscribed:  "To  James  H. 
and  Eliza  J.  Thompson,  from  Herbert  Tuttle." 

My  mother's  fine  qualities  as  a  nurse,  of  pa- 
tience, attention,  and  tenderness,  can  be  testified 
to  by  physicians,  husband,  children,  parents,  and 
many  to  whom  she  ministered  as  "unto  Him." 
Months  of  frail  health  and  delicate  strength  kept 
her  near  me,  and  the  days  were  cheerful  because 
of  her  devotion,  and  "never  can  I  forget  her 
sweet  glances  cast  upon  me  when  I  appeared 
asleep;  never  her  kiss  of  peace  at  night."  Her 
family  physician  and  nephew,  Dr.  Henry  M. 
Brown,  often  called  her  "the  General"  because 


APPROACHING  LIFE'S  SUNSET.  185 

of  her  fine  executive  qualities,  and  Dr.  W.  W. 
Glenn,  of  Hillsboro,  and  other  physicians  appre- 
ciated her  disposition  of  endurance  and  helpful- 
ness in  the  sick-room. 

Apparently  she  bore  separation  by  death  with 
unusual  heart-fortitude ;  but  it  was  unselfish,  for 
the  sake  of  others.  Every  family  death  changed 
her,  and  broke  her  heroic  spirit.  "Kisses  be- 
came more  holy,  and  partings  touched  the  soul 
to  deeper  woe." 

She  often  talked  to  me  about  the  many  fain, 
ily  bereavements,  and  told  me  of  her  "  blessed 
dreams  "  that  her  angel  children  welcomed  her 
home,  when  she  would  retire  "weary  of  earth," 
and,  perhaps,  physically  a  little  ill.  She  ever 
misses  the  companionship  of  her  gifted,  first-born 
son,  Allen  T.  Thompson,  one  of  the  heroes  of 
life,  made  great  by  suffering  and  triumph,  and  his 
Christian  victories  stimulated  her  own  Christian 
walk  and  zeal.  "  Gentle  Anna's  "  lovely  life  and 
death  are  a  vision  of  beauty  which  always  dim 
her  spectacles  to  talk  about ;  and  the  California 
mementos  of  dear  brother  Joseph  break  her 
down  completely,  as  do  dear  Sarah's  little  treas- 
ures ;  and  names  so  dear  to  her  widowed  daugh- 
ters are  always  sacred  to  her. 

Although  her  parents  both  passed  away  at  a 
very  advanced  age,  her  memories  and  conversa- 
tion about  them  have  all  the  freshness  and  sin- 


1 86  MY  MOTHER'S  YEARS 

cerity  of  the  request,  "  Make  me  a  child  again, 
just  for  to-night,"  as  she  tells  us,  in  the  evenings, 
around  the  cheerful  fireside  and  bright  lamp,  of 
their  devotion  and  munificence  towards  her.  She 
ever  misses  her  brothers,  and  feels  stricken  as 
she  stands  the  only  one  left  of  the  large  fam- 
ily circle. 

My  mother  was  a  delegate-at-large  to  all  the  Na- 
tional and  Ohio  State  Conventions  of  the  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union,  and  her  presence 
was  called  a  benediction,  and  her  characteristic 
and  earnest  speeches  much  appreciated.  She 
was  always  honored  by  Miss  Willard,  the  Na- 
tional and  State  officers,  and  all  the  workers ;  and 
she  returned  home  invigorated  in  health,  and 
strengthened  in  spiritual  life  to  labor. 

She  greatly  enjoys  a  personal  acquaintance 
with  Lady  Henry  Somerset,  England's  great 
leader  and  White  Ribbon  temperance  advocate, 
whose  gifts  and  social  graces  win  all  hearts. 

Rev.  Thomas  J.  Melish  and  Rev.  Peter  Tins- 
ley,  D.  D.,  were  guests  at  our  home  during  an 
Episcopal  Convocation.  These  prominent  cler- 
gymen spoke  of  her  unusual  cheerfulness  and 
vivacity,  and  how  well  life's  lessons  had  been 
learned  by  her  and  imparted  to  others. 

Although  one  of  the  most  devoted  Meth- 
odists of  her  age,  in  early  life  having  imbibed 


APPRO  A  CHING  LIFE 'S  SUNSET.  1 87 

from  her  grandmother,  Jane  Trimble,  all  the 
zeal  of  pioneer  Christianity,  in  her  later  years 
the  distance  of  her  home  from  the  church,  much 
sickness  in  the  family,  and  oftentimes  her  own 
delicate  health,  curtails  her  public  worship.  Her 
home  spirit  of  patience,  self-denial,  and  cheer- 
fulness about  it,  makes  her  own  soul  expand, 
and  through  her  example,  that  of  others ;  and 
who  can  tell  but  in  the  closet,  with  closed  doors, 
when  she  would  fain  be  at  Church,  her  prayers 
do  more  to  build  up  Christ's  kingdom  than  un- 
interrupted Church  attendance  ?  She  attends  as 
faithfully  as  possible  her  Sunday  afternoon  class- 
meeting,  and  always  finds  comfort  and  help  from 
her  class-leader  and  friend,  Mr.  Chancy.  Rev. 
Dr.  Marlay  says  of  her:  "As  Mrs.  Thompson's 
pastor  for  three  years,  I  had  every  opportunity 
to  study  her  religious  character  and  understand 
it.  I  esteemed  her  as  one  of  the  most  efficient 
helpers,  and  as  one  of  the  noblest  and  most  de- 
voted Christian  women  I  had  ever  known.  How 
much,  and  in  how  many  ways,  she  has  helped 
her  pastors  and  her  Church,  eternity  alone  can 
reveal.  Others,  doubtless,  will  speak  more  fully 
of  her  connection  with  the  ever-memorable  Cru- 
sade. That  work,  it  seems  to  me,  must  forever 
stand  as  the  crowning  glory  of  her  life ;  for  un- 
doubtedly it  was  a  divine  inspiration ;  and  it 


1 88  MY  MOTHER'S  YEARS 

was  moreover,  as  I  believe,  the  most  effective 
and  far-reaching  temperance  movement  the  world 
has  ever  seen." 

Morning  prayer  is  a  regular  service  at  our 
home,  conducted  by  mother,  and  her  prayers  will 
be  a  sacred  legacy  to  her  children. 

It  is  difficult  to  class  her  occupations,  even  in 
later  years;  for  she  has  always  been  a  busy 
woman, — housekeeping  and  all  home  interests 
always  faithfully  and  successfully  attended  to ; 
sewing  and  knitting,  which,  with  her,  are  accom- 
plishments as  well  as  occupations ;  general  read- 
ing; diligent  Bible  study;  a  large  family,  gen- 
eral and  temperance  correspondence  ;  social  calls 
at  home  and  upon  old  acquaintances.  She  is 
very  fond  of  her  neighbors,  and  appreciates,  as 
much  as  any  one  I  ever  knew,  greetings  of  dear 
friends,  and  sweet  children,  and  faithful  domes- 
tics. Her  cheerfulness,  humor,  and  sympathetic 
qualities  endear  her  to  all  classes. 

My  mother's  religious  interest  in  the  colored 
people,  and  their  devotion  to  her,  is  genuine. 

Her  later  years  have  been  much  helped  over 
the  cares  of  domestic  life  by  the  faithfulness  and 
efficiency  of  those  who  have  lived  with  her  for 
many  years. 

Several  years  after  my  return  to  the  old  home, 
my  brother  Henry  came  from  Colorado,  where  he 
had  been  living,  to  visit  his  parents,  who  prevailed 


APPROACHING  LIFE'S  SUNSET.  189 

upon  him  to  give  up  business  prospects  away  from 
home,  and  remain  to  cheer  and  aid  the  small 
family  circle. 

Both  my  brothers,  Henry  B.  and  John  B.  Thomp- 
son, of  Salt  Lake  City,  have  added  much  serenity 
to  the  declining  years  of  my  parents  by  their  de- 
votion and  helpfulness.  One  noble  grandson, 
George  A.  Thompson,  of  Xenia,  Ohio,  his  lovely 
family  and  mother,  Mrs.  Allen  Thompson,  are  a 
source  of  affectionate  interest  and  pride. 

When  bereavement  broke  up  Mrs.  Herbert 
Tuttle's  charming  "Cornell"  home,  "sister  Mary 
arranged  her  life  to  pass  a  part  of  the  time  with 
her  parents,  and  to  solace  herself  by  home  sym- 
pathy and  companionship,  and  the  old  home  has 
again  what  it  has  so  long  missed — her  society 
and  artistic  taste. 

Time  deals  gently  with  my  dear  father  also, 
whose  declining  years  are  unusually  vigorous, 
mentally  and  physically.  My  parents'  devotion 
to  each  other  needs  no  pen  to  herald  it ;  and  no 
home  scene  comes  closer  to  my  heart  than  to  see 
them  in  the  evening  of  life  still  together,  and 
with  so  much  left  them  to  enjoy. 

Occasionally  June  roses  bring  family  reunions 
of  unusual  pleasure,  when  the  devoted  sisters  of 
many  years,  Mrs.  Joseph  Trimble  and  my  mother, 
can  weave  in  conversation  a  tapestry  of  lov- 
ing memories ;  and  the  attractive  nieces,  who 


190  MF  MOTHER  'S  YEARS 

love  and  admire  Aunt  "  Eliza,"  flit  through  the 
old  halls  and  rooms,  sweet  with  the  precious 
perfume,  and  tender  echo  of  "Auld  Lang  Syne." 

As  I  close  these  pages,  the  summer  of  1895  is 
bringing  my  mother's  seventy-ninth  birthday. 
The  rich  temperance  fruitage  brought  together 
the  great  London  Convention  of  June,  which 
Miss  Frances  E.  Willard  says  is  the  outcome  of 
the  inspired  work  of  the  Crusade. 

That  my  mother  could  not  attend  the  London 
Convention  and  accept  the  hospitality  of  Lady 
Henry  Somerset  was  a  mutual  regret,  as  the  res- 
olution passed  at  Queen's  Hall  during  the  World's 
Convention  attests : 

"Resolved,  That  we  rejoice  in  the  presence  of  our  be- 
loved Mother  Stewart,  and  applaud  the  courage  that  led 
her  to  cross  the  sea  in  her  eightieth  year  that  she 
might  impart  to  us  the  inspiration  of  her  presence 
and  her  voice. 

"  That  to  Mrs.  Judge  Thompson,  of  Hillsboro,  Ohio, 
leader  of  the  first  Prayer  Band,  we  hereby  send  the  as- 
surance that  we  have  missed  her  gentle  and  womanly 
presence,  and  that  the  Crusade  Bible  and  Crusade  Psalm 
have  been  to  us  hallowed  reminders  of  the  brave  stand 
she  took  when  she  was  called  to  lead  the  women  of 
Hillsboro,  Ohio,  in  the  great  Crusade  now  known  and  felt 
the  world  around." 

December,  1895,  will  bring  the  twenty-second 
anniversary  of  the  Ohio  Crusade.  The  snow 
will  fall  gently  where  noble  workers  are  at  rest. 


APPROACHING  LIFE'S  SUNSET,  IQI 

"  Flashing  o'er  the  pathway  white,"  the  mighty 
work  will  go  on,  and  in  quiet  homes  the  Mother 
Leaders  will  look  out  upon  the  scene,  where 
Right  is  growing  stronger,  and  u  Righteousness 
that  exalteth  a  nation  "  is  spreading  more  rapidly 
because  of  woman's  courage  and  faithful  prayers. 


V. 

MY  FRIEND  MRS.  THOMPSON 

And  the  Present  Condition  of  the  Temperance  Work, 


FRANCES  E.  WILLARD. 

13  193 


V. 


EVERY  whirlwind  has  its  first  leaf;  for  the 
laws  of  motion  oblige  it  to  begin  somewhere 
in  particular.  Other  leaves  are  gathered  in  so 
rapidly  that  it  is  usually  impossible  to  tell  which 
one  stirred  first;  but  whichever  that  one  was, 
with  it  the  whirlwind  began. 

The  "Ohio  Crusade"  has  passed  into  history; 
the  "Ohio  Crusaders"  have  won  an  inextinguish- 
able fame.  The  "Women  of  the  West "  who  led 
the  "Whisky  War,"  as  it  is  called  throughout  the 
British  Empire,  gained  for  themselves,  without 
intending  it,  the  pioneer  place  in  that  great 
Woman's  Temperance  Movement  that  now  belts 
the  globe.  The  whirlwind  of  the  Lord  began  in 
the  little  town  of  Hillsboro,  on  the  23d  of  De- 
cember, 1873.  There  the  Pentecost  of  God  de- 
scended, and  seventy  women,  without  the  slight- 
est preconcerted  plan,  lifted  their  hands  as  silent 
witnesses,  when  asked  by  the  good  ministers  and 
the  famous  lecturer  if  they  were  willing  to  go  out 
from  their  homes  and  pray  in  the  places  where  their 
husbands,  sons,  and  brothers  were  tempted  to 

195 


196  PRESENT  CONDITION 

their  ruin.  There  the  Crusade  Psalm  was  read  ;  a 
rallying  cry,  "Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears,"  was 
sung ;  and  the  first  silent,  prayerful  procession  of 
wives  and  mothers  moved  along  Ohio  streets. 
The  gentle-hearted  woman  whom  they  chose  as 
their  leader  by  spontaneous  acclamation  was  one 
whose  heart  had  been  mellowed  by  glorious  dis- 
cipline and  sorrow.  Away  back  in  1836,  she  had 
accompanied  her  father,  then  an  Ohio  delegate 
to  the  National  Temperance  Convention  held  in 
Saratoga,  New  York,  and  when,  at  his  request, 
she  went  with  him  to  the  door  of  the  hotel  din- 
ing-room, which  afforded  ample  accommodation 
for  all  the  delegates  in  that  rudimentary  period 
of  the  movement,  and  he  asked  her  to  enter  with 
him,  Eliza  Thompson,  who  was  a  girl  of  but 
twenty  years,  naturally  hesitated,  saying  to  her 
stout-hearted  sire:  "Why,  father,  I  am  afraid  to 
go  in.  I  looked  through  the  door,  and  there  were 
no  women  present,  only  men."  Upon  this  the 
governor  exclaimed:  "Come  right  along  with 
me ;  my  daughter  must  never  be  afraid  in  a  good 
cause !"  And  taking  her  by  the  arm,  he  intro- 
duced the  first  woman  who  ever  entered  a  Na- 
tional Temperance  Convention  in  the  United 
States.  Who  shall  say  that  in  this  scene — how 
much  more  worthy  of  a  painter  than  most  of  the 
subjects  that  they  choose  ! — we  have  not  a  proph- 
ecy of  what  was  to  transpire  nearly  forty  years 


OF  THE  TEMPERANCE  WORtf.  197 

later  in  the  town  of  that  sweet  girl's  nativity? 
Ancestry  counts  for  much,  and  it  should  never 
be  forgotten  in  our  study  of  heredity,  that  the 
leader  of  the  Crusade  came  of  a  long  line  of  de- 
vout Christian  ancestors,  whose  earlier  history 
dated  back  to  Virginia,  that  famous  State  which 
was  the  home  of  George  Washington,  and  is 
known  in  history  as  the  "  Mother  of  Presidents." 
The  first  time  that  I  ever  saw  Mrs.  Judge 
Thompson  she  was  seated  on  the  platform  on  the 
right  of  Mrs.  Jane  Fowler  Willing,  the  president 
of  the  Convention  in  Cleveland,  November,  1874, 
at  which  the  National  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union  was  organized.  I  came  to  the 
Convention  from  Evanston,  Illinois,  where  I  had 
resigned  a  professorship  in  the  Northwestern 
University,  only  a  few  months  before.  Never 
having  been  a  temperance  worker,  I  had  no  know- 
ledge of  the  persons  of  the  Crusade  save  such  as 
an  intelligent  reader  was  able  to  gather  from  the 
current  press.  Of  Mrs.  Thompson  and  Mother 
Stewart  I  had  heard;  but  I  had  no  prevision  as 
to  who  was  entitled  to  the  high  honor  of  being 
called  the  leader  of  the  first  Praying  Band  of  the 
Crusade.  But  in  Cleveland  this  question  was 
settled  for  all  time.  While  Mother  Stewart  was 
applauded  as  "a  burning  and  shining  light," 
whose  natural  gifts  of  speech  and  dauntless 
bravery  would  forever  make  her  a  central  figure 


198  PRESENT  CONDITION 

in  the  Crusade  picture,  it  was  taken  as  a  matter 
of  course  that  the  quiet,  low-voiced,  motherly  little 
woman  on  the  platform  was  "  first  in  war"  even 
as  she  has  always  been  "first  in  peace."  It  was 
freely  said,  that  in  Washington  Court-house, 
where  the  Crusade  broke  out  the  day  following 
its  manifestation  in  Hillsboro,  greater  results 
were  reached,  and  that  hence  the  fire  spread 
with  a  steady  flame ;  but  the  women  of  Hills- 
boro were  "  in  at  the  birth,"  and  Hillsboro  is  the 
cradle,  even  as  Washington  Court-house  is  the 
crown,  of  the  Crusade. 

So  far  as  I  can  learn,  the  women  of  Hillsboro 
put  forward  no  claim,  nor  did  their  leader.  Per- 
haps this  was  because  there  was  no  need  for  them 
to  do  so ;  and  to  my  mind,  the  strongest  confirma- 
tion of  their  deserved  pre-eminence  is  the  quiet, 
gentle,  peace-making  spirit  that  they  have  shown 
from  the  beginning.  For  my  part,  I  can  testify 
that  it  has  only  been  "by  the  hardest  "that  her 
comrades  have  been  able  to  induce  Mrs.  Thomp- 
son to  come  forward  and  gently  take  her  place 
as  "  leader  of  the  first  Praying  Band."  On  some 
notable  occasions  this  typical  woman  of  the 
home,  the  Church,  and  school  has  stood  forth  as 
a  historic  figure.  Who  of  us  whose  lot  has  been 
cast  as  an  officer  or  delegate  to  the  National  Con- 
vention since  the  beginning,  can  forget  the  genial, 
smiling  presence  and  piquant  words  of  that  Cru- 


OF  THE   TEMPERANCE    WORK.  199 

sade  mother  whom  we  all  love  so  much  ?  To 
hear  her  tell  the  story  of  the  way  in  which  the 
movement  broke  out  in  Hillsboro  is  an  experi- 
ence to  be  cherished  for  a  lifetime.  Her  quaint, 
refined  presence ;  her  mild,  motherly  face,  framed 
in  its  little  cap ;  her  soft  voice ;  her  peculiar 
manner  of  utterance,  combining  remarkable 
originality  with  the  utmost  gentleness  and  good 
breeding;  her  inimitable  humor;  and,  most  char- 
acteristic of  all,  her  deep,  abiding  faith  in  God 
and  in  humanity, — all  these  have  made  an  indel- 
ible impression,  and  helped,  beyond  what  we  can 
at  all  estimate,  to  form  the  character  of  the  White 
Ribbon  Movement.  Naturally  of  a  conservative 
disposition,  Mrs.  Thompson  has,  nevertheless, 
kept  time  to  the  company's  music ;  she  has  taken 
every  wave  of  the  enrolling  tide  of  impulse  that 
we  believe  to  be  from  God,  as  a  strong  swimmer 
breasts  the  incoming  waves  of  the  sea.  It  was 
no  trifle  for  a  woman  with  the  traditions  of  "Old 
Virginia"  to  accept  our  woman's  suffrage  resolu- 
tion away  back  in  1877;  and  the  beauty  of  it 
was,  that  her  manner  of  announcing  the  faith 
that  was  within  her  lent  so  much  of  quiet  strength 
to  the  decision  of  the  Convention.  It  was  the 
same  when  we  avowed  our  fealty  to  the  Prohibi- 
tion party  in  1884,  and  when,  at  Cleveland  re- 
cently, the  proposition  was  put  forward  to  have 
a  vice-president-at-large,  who  should  represent 


200  PRESENT  CONDITION 

the  president  in  her  absence.  Although  twenty 
years  had  passed  since  the  Crusade,  her  "eye  was 
not  dimmed  nor  her  natural  force  abated  ;"  and 
I  never  have  known  a  Convention  more  amused, 
convinced,  unified,  than  by  her  inimitable  little 
speech  upon  that  question. 

At  this  distance  it  can  do  no  harm  to  refer  to 
the  incident  that  accompanied  the  lamented  de- 
parture of  a  dozen  good  women,  headed  by  one 
who  was  at  that  time  a  well-known  leader  in  our 
councils.  I  refer  to  the  non-partisan  exodus  in 
Battery  D,  Chicago,  at  the  Annual  Convention  of 
1889.  When  these  sisters,  thirteen  in  number, 
out  of  a  Convention  of  four  hundred  or  there- 
abouts, retired  from  the  scene,  I  asked  if  there 
were  not  other  women  from  Iowa,  the  State  that 
had  contributed  most  of  the  departing  delegates, 
who  would  fill  up  the  vacancies ;  and  from  forty 
to  fifty  Hawkeye  White  Ribboners  crowded  for- 
ward amid  the  plaudits  of  the  Convention.  Mary 
T.  Lathrap  then  rose,  and,  with  her  usual  dignity 
and  grace,  offered  a  resolution  of  respect  and  re- 
gret,which  was  unanimously  adopted ;  after  which 
Mrs.  Thompson  came  forward,  it  being  now 
late  at  night,  later  indeed  than  a  woman  of  her 
age  should  have  been  out  at  a  public  meeting — 
and  I  dare  say  the  like  had  never  happened  her 
before,  and  never  will  again — and,  with  a  gesture 
of  mingled  drollery  and  pathos,  threw  around  my 


Of    THE   TEMPERANCE    WORK.  2OI 

shoulders  the  shawl  she  had  worn  in  the  Crusade 
procession,  and  standing  beside  me  called  on  the 
delegates  to  rally.  It  was  one  of  the  most  in- 
spired moments  that  I  have  ever  witnessed.  The 
whole  Convention  rose,  crowding  together,  and 
we  sang  the  song  that  Mother  Thompson — for  so 
we  love  to  call  her  in  these  later  years — had 
given  out  when  the  first  Praying  Band  moved 

forward : 

"Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears." 

Best  of  all,  this  dramatic  action  was  wholly  un- 
premeditated. Mother  Thompson  had  brought 
the  shawl  to  give  it  to  me  as  a  surprise ;  she  had 
no  idea  that  our  sisters  contemplated  leaving  us  ; 
but  she  is  that  kind  of  a  woman.  She  has  her  forces 
well  in  hand ;  she  is  imperturbable ;  as  Garfield 
said  of  his  true-hearted  wife,  "  She  is  unstam- 
pedeable."  This  great  quality  is  not  only  in- 
herited and  innate,  but  comes  of  the  culture  of  a 
lifetime  in  "the  peace  of  God  that  passeth  un- 
derstanding." 

It  was  my  good  fortune,  as  far  back  as  1876, 
to  make  a  tour  among  the  Crusaders  of  Ohio, 
visiting  well-nigh  forty  of  their  towns  and  vil- 
lages. I  could  write  a  volume  on  the  history, 
experience,  and  inspiration  of  that  memorable 
pilgrimage.  It  was  one  of  the  few  times  in  my 
life  that  I  ever  went  forth  alone ;  and  I  was 
mothered  in  the  homes  of  those  devoted  women 


202  PRESENT  CONDITION 

with  a  tenderness  that  will  never  be  forgotten. 
My  own  stipulation  in  making  the  trip  was  that 
I  should  go  to  Hillsboro,  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Thompson,  and  to  Springfield,  the  home  of 
Mother  Stewart,  in  both  of  which  we  took  sweet 
counsel  together. 

Mrs.  Thompson's  home  is  the  old  family 
mansion  where  the  governor  spent  all  his  days, 
and  which  he  bequeathed  to  his  beloved  only 
daughter.  It  stands  on  a  slight  ascent  and  in  a 
wooded  grove,  at  the  edge  of  a  well-built  town 
of  four  thousand  inhabitants,  and  is  roomy  and 
hospitable  as  heart  could  wish.  Here  I  met 
Judge  Thompson,  the  genial,  witty  lawyer,  and 
husband  of  our  leader;  Mrs.  Marie  Thompson 
Rives,  the  accomplished  elder  daughter;  and 
Henry  Thompson,  the  youth  who  brought  the 
tidings  to  his  mother  that  she  was  expected  at 
the  church  on  that  memorable  morning.  I  longed 
to  see  that  lovely  younger  daughter,  who  from 
her  pocket  Bible  brought  to  her  mother  the  Cru- 
sade Psalm,  that  is  the  Magna  Charta  of  the 
White  Ribbon  Movement;  but  she  was  gone, 
having  been  married  to  Herbert  Tuttle,  the  dis- 
tinguished professor  in  Cornell  University,  Ithaca, 
New  York. 

Those  were  delightful  days  in  that  happy 
home.  We  visited  the  famous  Crusade  Church, 
and  made  the  acquaintance  of  its  pastor,  the 


OF  THE   TEMPERANCE   WORK.  203 

Rev.  Dr.  McSurely,  who  befriended  the  women 
from  first  to  last  in  all  their  work.  We  held 
meetings  in  the  basement  of  his  church,  where 
the  first  Crusade  Praying  Band  convened;  we 
read  the  Crusade  Psalm  from  the  old  Bible,  and 
sang  the  Crusade  hymn.  And  I  have  now  in 
my  den  at  home,  given  me  by  dear  Mrs.  Thomp- 
son, a  relic  of  the  Crusade  days  from  a  Hillsboro 
saloon,  one  of  the  first  ever  visited.  There  she 
is  living  still,  our  Crusade  mother,  surrounded  by 
her  dear  ones.  It  is  fortunate  for  us  that  we 
have  the  record  of  the  "beginnings  of  things" 
in  the  movement  of  which  we  are  a  part,  penned 
by  the  faithful  hand  whose  chirography  I  seem 
to  see,  "plainer  than  print,"  as  I  dictate  these 
words  to  my  stenographer  here  in  Eastnor  Castle, 
England,  a  place  which  I  should  never  have  be- 
held, in  a  country  which  would  probably  never 
have  been  like  home  to  me,  except  for  her ;  but 
which  is  now  mapped  out  to  the  White  Ribbon 
Movement,  and  led  by  the  choicest  flower  of  the 
nobility  of  England.  And  all  this  is  because 
there  were  women  who  dared,  women  who  be- 
lieved in  God,  and  went  bravely  forward  when 
the  Divine  call  had  touched  their  hearts ;  and  of 
them  all,  Eliza  Trimble  Thompson  was  the 
leader. 

MAY,  20,  1895. 


VI. 

LETTER  OF  LADY  HENRY  SOMERSET. 

205 


Ionium,  Jlugua!  15, 1893. 
DEAR  AND  HONORED  FRIEND  : 

Your  charming  letter  has  just  been  read  to  Miss 
Willard  and  to  me,  and  as  Miss  Willard  is  going  to 
send  a  line,  I  add  this  word  of  affectionate  remem- 
brance. You  are  doing  a  service  to  the  cause  that 
will  be  more  and  more  appreciated  as  time  goes  on 
in  giving  to  the  great  White  Ribbon  Army  an  au- 
thentic record  of  those  Origines,  concerning  which 
you  can  so  truly  say:  "All  of  which  I  saw,  and  part 
of  which  I  was." 

We  all  think  your  Sketches  should  appear  in 
book-form,  and  marvel  that  you  have  so  clear  and 
bright  a  pen,  both  figuratively  and  literally,  after 
your  lifetime  of  care  and  toil. 

I  have  been  waiting  in  the  hopes  of  being  able 
to  send  you  one  of  my  large  photographs ;  but  as 
they  are  not  yet  finished,  I  send  you  this.  The 
other  shall  come  to  you  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
will  be  framed,  so  that,  if  you  care  to  hang  it  up, 
you  will  look  sometimes  on  the  face  of  one  who 
has  for  you  the  deepest  sympathy  and  admiration. 

Please  remember  me  to  Judge  Thompson  and 
your  sons  and  daughters,  of  whom  Miss  Willard 
has  often  spoken. 

Hoping  to  see  you  in  Chicago,  I  am  yours  ever 
affectionately,  in  White  Ribbon  bonds, 

ISABEL  SOMERSET. 
207 


b 

I  c 


Universit   of  California 


4flH 
5  1 

S 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBHAHY  hAUILl  1  T 
405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 
Return  this  material  to  the  library 
from  which  it  was  borrowed. 

X;QF- 

NON-RENE 

WACLE 

c-3   A 

—  -1    0 

NOV-7' 

990 

%T» 

DUE  2  WKS  FROM  DJ 

TE  RECEIVED 

§**' 

REC'O  ID-HRl 

cc  II 

p*^  «—l— 

sT^5"" 

AL.         JAN  2 

D1994 

^E-t 

.».*'. 

*           •>      • 

0:1  \—~ 

cc  -f-  --,- 

CO 

5  /^"" 

s  v 

dH^^ 

riDrfV 

*** 

t 


v 

ira=l 


=>      M 


"%" 


